


All Roads Lead Somewhere

by A_Bag_Of_Halflings



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: A few Pre-war chapters, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Because they all leave at different times?, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Overarching Plot, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fringe Horror, Fringe Horror Elements, Maybe if you stretched the definition it could work, Multiple Lone Wanderers, Multiple Sole Survivors, Other tags will also be added as they become relevant, Pre-Fallout 4 Boston, Slow Build, Slow Burn, So not really Lone, so they're not really sole survivors are they
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-04
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2018-10-28 03:34:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 43
Words: 162,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10822887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Bag_Of_Halflings/pseuds/A_Bag_Of_Halflings
Summary: Ella Rhodes escapes from Vault 101, but finds that she isn't the only one to have escaped. Cassidy, her long time rival and twin sister of Butch DeLoria, had used the chaos in the vault as a distraction to use in her own favor. But out in the Wasteland, they are forced to rely on each other and become something like friends in their joined effort of survival while trying to find Ellas' father.From there, bad things seem to happen more often than the good. Without any guidance to help them, Cassidy buys Charons' contract for Ella, Ella meets her long-lost brother, and the feud between the Brotherhood of Steel and the Enclave come to a tipping point.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not Beta'd/Edited by my usual Editor. :P
> 
> *For those here for Fallout 4 or the Fallout NV tags, that stuff starts in some later chapters, but as this is supposed to be one continuous work, it would just be best to just read the whole thing. :P
> 
> *Also, as a note, I didn't name Cassidy that because of Butch Cassidy (Because she's his OC twin), it was entirely on accident. I didn't even notice until someone else pointed it out.
> 
> *Also entirely on accident was the title, which I had originally come up with as a play on the last name that I had given Ella. I had no idea that there was a New Vegas comic that was called All Roads. (I have now read it.)

_Ella Rhodes_

- _July 13th, 2268_ -

 

Her tenth birthday, and so far it was already the best birthday she could have asked for. The cafeteria was decorated with the old decorations that had been in storage and brought out for every birthday to have happened in the Vault over the past two hundred years, so they were falling apart and needed to be handled with special care. They at some point had some color to them, but now they were all faded enough to be about the same color of musty tan.

So far she'd gotten a Grognak comic from her best friend and a sweetroll from Old Lady Palmer. Whatever her Dad was going to get her was bound to be absolutely fantastic, he always gave her good gifts on her birthday. She hopped over to get a good look at the cake, before it was likely to be demolished by the others. The only time anyone had anything sweet to eat in the Vault was on Birthdays and Christmas. But, as usual, the gang of bullies of the Vault stopped her on her way to see the cake.

"I saw Old Lady Palmer give you that Sweetroll! So hand it over!" Cassidy pouted at her from her seat in the booth.

Ella shook her head, "No way am I giving my Sweetroll to you and Butch!"

"That's no fair!" Butch squealed from beside his sister, "Old Lady Palmer made us share one on our birthday 'cause we're twins, so you're gonna share with us! Or else!"

"Or else what, Butch?" Ella stuck her tongue out at him, "You gunna hit me on my birthday in front of everyone and get in trouble?" She used her tongue to drag a huge line, right through the center of the sweetroll's stale and sugary icing. She offered it then to them, "Here, now you can have it."

Neither of them made a move toward the sweetroll with all her saliva on it, the dark haired twins glowered at her from where they sat.

"You're gunna regret that, Rhodes." Cassidy spat out at her.

 

 

- _August 3rd, 2274_ -

 

She had just stepped out of her Dad's office, and of course he was able to see right through her little rouse of being sick. She didn't want to take the G.O.A.T today, because why should she let an automated test score her and sort her into whatever job she was forced to accept? Couldn't she pick her own job within the Vault?

Then she heard laughter, and looked up to see Butch, sans sister, and their little underlings all gathered around Amata. She stomped over immediately.

"Step off, Butch." Ella tried to puff herself up, but everyone else seemed to have had their growth spurt but her, leaving her almost half a head shorter than everyone else involved.

Butch smiled, knowing, or thinking, that she wouldn't have the courage or the fighting skill to take him on, much less him and his two lackeys, Wally and Paul. Though she knew his sister was the real brains of the operation, and probably off trying to have a 'word alone' with Mr. Brotch to cheat the G.O.A.T and get the job she wanted.

"And what are you going to do, _little girl_?" He taunted from above her.

She slung her right fist across his jaw, startling him to stumble back and hit the back of his head against the wall. Objections arose from Wally and Paul as she grabbed Amata and walked arm in arm with her to the classroom.

Ella heard faintly behind her, "Nah, leave 'em. Those two little bitches aren't worth the effort anyways."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The Charon/Female Lone Wanderer Tag is for Charon/Ella. I feel the need to make that clear, since I have two Lone Wanderers.)
> 
> A Master Post of the characters in this work can be found [Here](http://extra-dimensional-reconnaissance.blogspot.com/2017/05/all-roads-lead-somewhere-master-post.html) (So beware of **spoilers** ). New characters will be added to the list as they appear in the story, so it will be regularly updated. :3
> 
> There is also now a Gallery Post for this work, which can be found [Here](https://extra-dimensional-reconnaissance.blogspot.com/2017/08/all-roads-lead-somewhere-gallery-post.html). So beware of **more spoilers**. New screencaps and art will be added to it as it happens in the story/when it is acquired.


	2. Two Strangers In Megaton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Cassidy escape the Vault and end up in Megaton.

_Ella Rhodes_

- _August 17th, 2277_ -

 

Ella swallowed down the lump in her throat, trying to keep her hands from shaking around the 10mm as she booked it out of the Vault, Amata screaming behind her to run, and gunshots from the guards, but none of them ventured out past the open vault door to get her. She stopped at the makeshift wooden door at the entrance to the cave and glanced back, seeing the vault door slide back into place before her hearing returned to her.

She had never heard anything so horrible in her life as the screaming of the metal shifting against each other as it came to life. When it was fully shut, she leaned against the wooden door and took in huge lungfuls of air like she'd just come up to the surface after nearly drowning.

It was apt; the vault was like a dark murky pool, and now she was free of it.

 

Ella hurled all over her boots.

 

She gasped and struggled to return her weight to her own feet as she stumbled, and pushed the wooden door outward with ease. She was blinded for a few moments, only able to sway a little as she tried to adjust to the excess amount of light.

The first thing she saw in front of her when she could finally see were the numbers 101, emblazoned on the back of a blue jumpsuit. Cassidy DeLoria looked around in awe, her Tunnel Snakes jacket hanging loosely from one hand, the other held up to her face to keep the sun out of her eyes as she peered around the land below them. Ella had the other twins' jacket, tied tightly around her waist, but all she could feel was _hate_. It was no wonder the vault door was already open. It was no wonder that she hadn't been there to help her brother and her mother. _It was no wonder she was unlucky enough that her childhood bully was able to walk freely under the sun she had never seen before she did_.

Before she knew what was happening, Ella had jumped her and they were both rolling down the dirt hill in a tangle of flailing limbs and nails and teeth. The only sound hanging over them was the curses from both of their mouths.

They were only at it for a few minutes when they were overcome by the mid-August heat, coupled with their body heat being trapped within their vault suits. The two of them were rendered sweaty and panting heaps, side by side. Ella was only able to give Cassidy a small shove on the arm, to which Cassidy replied by huffing exhaustedly and laying her arm over Ella's ribs.

"We're outside." Cassidy said after a number of minutes.

Ella sighed, having got that out of her system, caught her breath and cooled down for a moment, "Yeah." She nodded to herself, since Cassidy couldn't seem to work up the energy to look over at her, "We can never go back."

"That's fine with me." The other girl laughed and sat up, "What do we do now?"

Ella sat up too, "What do you mean, what do _we_ do now? _I'm_ going to find my dad."

"You're not _that_ stupid, Rhodes." Cassidy finally looked over at her, frowning and eyes narrowed down at her, "The Overseer's always saying how _dangerous_ it is out here. And I don't think we're doing ourselves any favors being two young women who've barely even held weapons. We should just make signs that say, 'we want to get kidnapped and raped'."

"Don't say that... This... place can't be _that_ bad."

"Pft... I know men... and as I've seen and as I'm sure you've seen, a man with power becomes a huge asshole." Cassidy gestured up the hill at the Vault, "Just think about a place like this where there's no Overseer to keep everyone _else_ in line."

Ella frowned, thinking how terrible it would be for there to be hundreds of people like the Tunnel Snakes, entitled and with free reign, only worse, "Fine. I get it. Let's just... go find my Dad. I'm sure he hasn't gotten far, right?"

She wobbled as she stood and picked up her gear; a security helmet she'd stolen from one of the unconscious guards, her BB Gun, a 10mm, a couple of stimpaks she'd taken on her way out, and Butch's Tunnel Snakes jacket.

"Hey! Where'd you get that?" Cassidy demanded, having finally noticed the larger jacket.

"Butch gave it to me. After I saved your mother from Radroaches."

Cassidy scoffed and stood, "Of course, that big baby's so scared of Radroaches."

"Yeah, but aren't you scared of Molerats?"

"It's different! No one with half a brain has died from a Radroach! And have you seen Molerat teeth? They're disgusting and carry diseases and can bite through bone!" Cassidy shivered involuntarily, despite the heat, at the thought of them.

"I think Mr. Brotch was exaggerating when he said that they can bite through bone. I will grant you that they're horrid little creatures." Ella peered around, her eyes not quite used to making out everything around them quite yet. It all looked so _brown_ and _cluttered_ , "There's some buildings over there." She pointed down the cracked and broken road they were on.

"Maybe it's a settlement." Cassidy wondered as they made their way down, but as soon as they stepped towards the buildings they could see that it clearly was not. Every house on that street was burned out and nothing more than a couple posts, foundation, and rubble. There was no one around, but for some reason they could hear some sort of radio from somewhere in the ruins. (And as it turned out later, was actually a little floating robot. It didn't pay them any attention, so they didn't worry about it as they enjoyed some music that wasn't Vault Tec approved and mandated.)

"What do we do now then?" Ella looked to Cassidy. Even though Ella was a Chaplain, Cassidy was more of a leader than her, and she had always thought that maybe Cassidy should have been a shift supervisor instead of a fry cook. At least then she'd only be supervising the guards of the Vault, and Ella wouldn't have to interact with her every single day. It was unavoidable now, but she was determined to make the best of it. She was the only person Ella knew out here who knew the life inside the vault, and they'd have a better chance of survival if they went about it together.

"Umm..." Cassidy thought it over for a bit, peering down the broken road, "I think I see a sign over there!"

She pointed and Ella looked. At the end of the road they were on was, in fact, a sign. They approached it, but even before they had gotten up to it entirely they could read what had been painted on it.

"Megaton." She mumbled, more to herself.

"It's a start, right?" Cassidy grinned back at her.

"Do you think my Dad's there?" Ella looked around, "He could have gone another way."

"It would do good to stock up on some ammo though. Maybe another gun? You're the only one outfitted here."

She had the advantage with all her gear, Cassidy only had her own leather jacket, still clamped firmly in her left hand. "How are we going to buy anything though?"

Cassidy looked back around, "Do you think we could trade for stuff?'

"Trade?" Ella thought it over, it would be nice if they had anything to _trade_ with, "What if they only take money?"

"What, like, _pre-war_ money? Where are we going to find pre-war money?"

"It doesn't have to be pre-war money. In early civilizations people used seashells as currency." Ella explained.

"Well, we're a little short on seashells." Cassidy kicked at a piece of asphalt, "So... how much stuff do you think are in these houses that we can trade for?"

Ella shrugged and sighed, "I guess we'll have to find out."

Then she thought about it for a moment, "How are we going to carry everything?"

 

More than an hour later the two of them were sitting on a curb, passing a Nuka-Cola between them as they sorted through what they had gotten from the six houses. The only house that had been left standing they couldn't open the door, and when they heard noises inside they had decided to run for it rather than face whomever was on the other side of it. There had been movement in the school, so that was deemed off-limits to them as well.

All in all, they had found three frag grenades, four Jet inhalers, two bottles each of Vodka and Whiskey, Psycho, Med-X, Mentats, a cherry bomb, a baseball bat, some food of unknown origin that was found alongside a box of Yum Yum Deviled Eggs, and two Nuka Cola. They had also found a few bobby pins, which were added to a little box already containing more than a dozen that had been procured from Cassidy's jacket pocket.

They ate tentatively at the food they had found, and the Nuka Cola that they shared was a treat. There were almost no Nuka Colas in the Vault, and the ones there were had to be traded for items of large value. Ella had had only one in her nineteen years in the Vault, which she had to trade two Manta Man comics and an Astoundingly Awesome magazine for.

Neither of them wanted to waste the commodity.

They packed up what was left into Butch's jacket and began to carry it between them to Megaton, having a little trouble with the incline on the way there. At the gate they were greeted by a robot with a little cowboy hat on top of him. He boasted (in his heavily robotic voice, which both girls giggled at) that Moriarty's bar had the coldest drinks in the Capital Wasteland.

They stepped inside, Ella immediately noticing that there was an undetonated atomic bomb in the middle of town. Cassidy immediately noticed that everyone near the entrance had stopped to oogle them, and were quickly approached by a man in a cowboy hat and long tan duster.

"A couple more strangers..." He smiled to them, more as a courtesy than from genuine pleasure, "I hope you aren't here to cause any trouble."

"Trouble's my middle name," Cassidy smirked, but got an elbow in the side from Ella.

"Sorry," Ella said before the man in the cowboy hat could quip back at Cassidy, "We're just here to look for my father, then we'll be going. Have you seen him? He's kind of tall, middle-aged..."

"Sorry, as much as I'd like to, I can't keep track of everyone who comes in and out of that gate. But if he was here, he would've come and gone before sun-up. But I did hear that someone rolled through Moriarty's last night." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to across town. Even from there they could see the sign for Moriarty's, "The name's Lucas Simms, by the by. Megaton Sheriff, and Mayor when the need arises."

"Thanks." Ella sighed in relief.

Cassidy frowned, "So, what do you guys have for money here?"

They got a strange look, "Money? You mean Caps?"

"Caps? Like... bottle caps?"

Lucas nodded, "Bottle caps. The currency of the Capital Wasteland. And further out as well, so I've heard."

"So... is there anywhere we can trade items for caps? Or items for items?" Cassidy asked.

"There's Moira Brown, at Craterside Supply. Trades for everything, and I was supposed to tell anyone who'd listen that she's hiring for some new project."

"Project?"

Lucas shrugged, "If I were you... I'd be a little careful with whatever she's up to. Moira has been known to... over-exaggerate the _safety_ of whatever she does."

Ella was still staring at the bomb.

Cassidy nodded, "Anyone else looking for work?"

"Only other person I can think of is Walter, at the water processing plant. And the only reason I'm saying that is because the pressure's been down lately, and nobody likes water flow that barely drips. Myself included."

"What about the bomb?" Ella asked suddenly.

"What about it?"

"Has anyone tried to disarm it?"

"No... unless you think you're up for the task. I'll give you a hundred caps if you can." He turned to look down the crater at the bomb, resting, waiting. "Don't do it when Confessor Cromwell can see you, if you try. He and his Children of Atom _worship_ the damned thing."

"And he'd kill over it?"

"No, no. He wouldn't become violent. I've known him for many years and haven't heard him say a single negative thing to anyone, even when he has people telling him he's crazy. But... the Church may spread the news about you, and I can't say that other Children of Atom are as peaceful as the ones here in Megaton." Lucas assured them.

"Right. At night then." Ella mumbled to herself, then turned to the Sheriff, "Thank you for all of your help."

He tipped his head, and bid them a good evening before heading towards a scrap metal home and entering it. It wasn't quite dark yet, so they moved quickly while they still had the light working in their favor in the uncertain terrain.

 

Ella's face was as red as the paint on a bottlecap. Cassidy wasn't too pleased either, but knew that this would probably happen sooner or later. One hundred caps wasn't something that they had, but at least they already knew where to get some.

"So... I'll just disarm the bomb then." Ella sighed angrily.

For the first time, Cassidy was the one calming someone else down, "Let's go trade out our stuff first. Before... what was her name... Moira? Before she closes her store and goes to bed. Okay?"

Ella frowned and nodded, following Cassidy's lead down the stairs and to the door of Craterside Supply.

They walked in to find an overly cheery woman. A woman who, despite being about to close up shop, told them everything about what she had planned in her project as they bartered for what was worth how much. A Survival Guide didn't sound too bad for either of them, it wasn't like they could opt out of the wasteland and move back into the Vault. They were pariahs now. No home, no friends, and no clue what to do. At least this gave them a little bit of direction before they could move more towards finding her Dad.

Moira outlined what the first chapter was going to be about, and it seemed too perfect for them.

"You could go soak up all those rads while you're working on the bomb." Cassidy smiled, as Moira pulled out some more ammo that she'd need, and was even lending her a backpack for the haul, "And I can go to the 'Super Duper Mart'."

Ella sighed, handing over the 10mm to Cassidy, "Just be careful, okay? You don't know what's down there."

"I will, don't worry."

 

 

- _August 18th, 2277_ -

 

Ella sighed as she saw the light of the sun start to brighten over the walls of Megaton. She had carefully observed the Geiger counter on her pip-boy when she had first started, but during a particularly focus intensive part of disarming the bomb, she had forgotten all about it, and forgotten the fact that she was soaking up rads like an old sponge that hadn't tasted water in two-hundred years. She was barely able to drag herself away from the bomb without throwing up.

And strangely she felt hungry, then remembered that she had been awake for more than twenty-four hours now, and had eaten very little. One meal and one Nuka Cola that had been shared with Cassidy.

She leaned her head against a pole, of what she couldn't be bothered to look behind her at it to see what it was exactly that she was leaning against, and closed her eyes. Ella was woken up suddenly with a kick to the leg. It wasn't a hard kick, but just enough to wake her, and she realized immediately she shouldn't have gone to sleep with as much radiation poisoning as she had.

Cassidy was standing over her, a little wobbly, a piece of dirty cloth tied around her thigh tightly to stem her bleeding, but it was still visible. "Give me a Stim." She said simply.

"I gave you all the Stimpaks." Ella replied.

Cassidy ripped open her backpack and took one out, "I don't know how to administer it."

She was glad now that even though she didn't become a doctor like her father, he still trained her with first aid and things that would become invaluable outside of the Vault. Ella tried to stand, but felt woozy immediately, "You'll have to come down here."

With a lot of trouble, Cassidy lowered herself next to Ella. The sun had come up only a little bit more, so she hadn't been asleep for long, but Confessor Cromwell was back worshipping the atomic bomb, no one the wiser except for the two of them that it was actually disarmed now. She checked over Cassidy's wound, thankful the bullet hadn't stuck around, as she didn't know if she'd be able to focus on removing a bullet or shrapnel with how much her head was swimming. She was still able to administer the stimpak, and after a few moments the bleeding began to slow.

They sat there, side-by-side, until the wound had completely closed. Though Cassidy still had a slight limp while she dragged Ella back up to Craterside Supply.

Moira made some quip about her 'glowing' while she took notes on Ella's condition, and while Cassidy sorted through the haul she'd gotten from the Super Duper Mart. The remedy that Moira had given her made her feel strange, but she wasn't sure how to describe the 'strange' feeling.

She tried not to lose her lunch (though she hadn't had any anyways) in the corner while Moira catalogued everything and talked with Cassidy about the trip. 'Raiders and a robot' was all she could really hear from that conversation.

She made her way back over to the counter when she felt a little better, just in time to hear Moira say, "Why don't you keep all of it? I just got a shipment of food myself. The backpack too. As an apology for you getting shot by raiders!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

Cassidy grunted in reply, shoving all of their new things into their newly acquired backpack.

"So, there's only one more part in this chapter of the book..." Moira began.

"I think we're going to hold off, at least for a little bit." Ella interrupted.

Moira didn't seem too upset, by either her rude injecture or what was said, "That's all right. It'll give me plenty of time to write up the first two parts of the chapter."

She quickly went about her other business as they dragged each other out of the store. It was still early in the morning, Ella's pip-boy said it was eight-twenty and Cassidy's pip-boy said it was eight-forty-five.

They sat at the railing, legs dangling over the edge as they watched everyone go about their business below them. Now Ella didn't know what to do. They had enough money from Cassidy's trip to the Super Duper Mart to pay Moriarty for the information, and that was even before going to see Sheriff Simms about payment for disarming the bomb.

Cassidy leaned over and opened the backpack up, took a Nuka-Cola out of it, and passed it over to her.

"Are you sure?" She took the soda, a little confused.

"Yeah." Cassidy nodded and pulled out another bottle for herself, "I found _fifteen_ of 'em at the Super Duper Mart. Plus the one we found yesterday. Only found one bottle of purified water... so we might have to survive off of these for awhile. Or drink that gross brown water."

The two of them popped the caps off of their drinks, depositing them straight into their shared cap purse. Ella savored the flavor, even more than when they had a Nuka Cola yesterday. Ella was halfway through her soda, and Cassidy was halfway through a yawn, when they heard footsteps approaching them. They both turned to see Lucas Simms, a half smile on his face.

"I didn't actually think you'd be able to do it," He nodded down to the bomb, "But it's disabled. You don't know how much safer I feel knowing that we don't have a countdown over our heads anymore."

Ella nodded, "Took most of the night too."

He grabbed a bag filled with caps, and handed it down to them. Then handed down another item that Ella had to inspect before she looked back up to him questioningly.

"It's the key to the empty house here in Megaton. Been empty for a while now, thought that Megaton would be a better and safer place with you two around."

"Thank you. Really." Ella sighed in relief, looking down at the door key again. Neither of them had even thought about where they were going to sleep, and she didn't want to talk to Moriarty as tired and as sick as she was. She didn't think that Cassidy wanted to face him either with how tired and how injured she was either.

He gave them directions, then went back to patrolling. The two of them hobbled all the way there, and Ella nearly cried when they saw the bed. There was only the one, but they laid down on it sideways with their legs dangling over the side and slept soundly.

 

 

- _August 19th, 2277_ -

 

Ella woke up on the bed alone, new light streaming through the holes and worn out places in the metal around her. It couldn't have been the same day, so she just figured that it was the next day. She sat up and stretched, checked her pip-boy to confirm the date, and then padded downstairs to find that Cassidy had organized all of their belongings by category. She had tossed her Pip-Boy to the side, and complained about it, because now they didn't have to wear them, so she was determined to carry it around in her backpack. Ella thought it was a good idea at the least, because then the bulky personal computer couldn't get in the way if they were in a bad spot, so she took hers off as well and set it aside.

In their fridge was everything that had been acquired by Cassidy at the Super Duper Mart, and they would probably need more if they were going to be eating regularly. But so far there was more than a dozen Nuka Colas, _four Quantums_ (Which Ella couldn't help but stare in amazement at, and after about two hours in the fridge, they'd decided to take them out and stick them in a box in the bottom of one of the lockers, so they couldn't be tempted unless it was a real special occasion), five cartons of dirty water (Which they were already thinking about throwing out), a can of cram, a box of unidentifiable junk food, a box of salisbury steak, five boxes of Dandy Boy Apples, and one singular can of purified water.

It was hardly even two days worth of sustainable food, even if they rationed it. Their only other option was to hardly eat at all, but it would have been better for them in the long run to have the energy to make more caps or scavenge more food than to eat only a box of food a day between them.

The shelf furthest away from the fridge became the home for their medical supplies, with five stimpaks left, and a small assortment of Med-X, Mentats, Rad-X, Rad Aways, Jet, Psycho, and a Blood pack. The shelf beside it was for alcohol, which they only had four bottles, three of Vodka and one Beer.

Most impressively was all of the weapons that were laid out on the floor, her BB Gun excluded, as it stood leaning against the locker by the door. They had eleven frag grenades, three baseball bats, three mines, a laser pistol, brass knuckles, a .32 pistol, an assault rifle, a knife, the 10mm that she'd given to Cassidy, and a box of assorted parts that had come from all of them.

"None of them were in good condition, so I disassembled the ones that had extras and fixed them up," She explained, "None of them are in good condition still, but they won't break, at least for a little bit. All these extra parts are useless."

"And here I thought you were just a fry cook." Ella said, eyeing all of the weapons they had at their disposal.

Cassidy shrugged, "Comes with that kitchen in 101, always had something that needed to be fixed up."

"So... why is there a mine over there, and not over here with all of the rest of them?"

"Oh... that's just a lunchbox." Cassidy looked back at the little thing on the lower rung, "I thought it was a mine, so I picked it up and brought it back, but it was empty. It's cute though, right?"

"I guess..." Ella sighed. It was a Vault-Tec lunchbox, which meant that it had the image of people lining up to secure their places in an underground tomb. It wasn't really something she wanted to think about, and not something she would willingly do now that she was above ground.

"I mean, if nothing else we can actually use it as a lunchbox." Cassidy shrugged, not taking the picture on the front as seriously as Ella was. "What do you want to do now?"

"Go talk to Moriarty, I think." She bit her lip, not really wanting to face the man.

 

They left Moriarty's and Ella was even angrier than she was before. The price had jumped from one hundred caps to three hundred, which they were short by only twelve caps. The two of them returned back to their new home and Ella stewed in silence.

"It's only twelve caps. I can go barter one of our Nuka-Cola's for that much." Cassidy said, picking one out of the fridge and sticking into their pack.

"And what if he raises the price again?" Ella pouted.

"He's not gunna. I know how rackets work, I've been running one since I was eight in the Vault. You raise the price once, when you know that they really want whatever it is you got. Any more than that and you risk them goin' somewhere else, or doin' something they wouldn't normally do. Like try to kill you."

Ella crossed her arms, "But then we won't have any money to gear up."

"We can scavenge around a little bit. More destroyed neighborhoods and more Super Duper Marts. Trade what we get for food and guns and maybe some armor." She wrinkled her nose, "And maybe some new clothes while we're at it."

Ella took in how their vault suits looked. Hers still had flakes of puke on the boots, and the bottom half completely brown from sitting in the mud all night disarming that nuke. Cassidy's vault suit was ripped and stained with her blood, and the blood of the raiders she'd killed at the Super Duper Mart. She didn't even want to think about the smell that she was trying to block out, or else she might throw up.

"True."

"Oh, and I'll go see that guy at the water plant, see what kind of job he needs." Cassidy shrugged, "Maybe he'll pay for the work. As long as it isn't a run outside the walls, I'll be able to limp my way around."

The stimpak hadn't completely healed her yet, but the limp should be gone by the end of the day. Ella had never seen a stimpak healed injury last more than a day and a half.

"What should I do then?" They'd already put away all of their stuff, their weapons sat in the locker by the kitchen.

"Maybe go see about getting another bed." Cassidy tapped her bottom lip, "At least see how much it would cost. I mean, even if we do go to find your dad, we could always come back here. I don't see why we'd give up a house just because we have to travel a bit."

"All right, I'll go see Moira." They split their caps, just in case, "Anything else you want me to pick up there?"

Cassidy shrugged, "Clothes."

 

Ella sat where she and Cassidy had just about a day before, with her legs swinging over the ledge and watching the people below as they went about their daily business. A new bed would set them back 100 caps, but it wasn't like they had much to spare. Clothes were a variety of prices, but armor was (obviously) much more expensive, and something that they _needed_.

Cassidy approached, smile adorning the usual spot of her smirk, "Dude, Walter just gave me _two hundred caps!_ "

"Walter?"

"The guy who runs the Water Processing Plant. All I had to do was fix three leaks. One of them was kind of hard to spot though."

"But... two hundred caps? Really?"

Cassidy nodded, still smiling, "We can go give Moriarty the three hundred caps he wants, and we'll still have some left over!"

 

Ella was finally content when they'd left Moriarty's and gone back to Moira with what was left of their money. And when they'd left Craterside Supply, they had only 28 caps left, but they had information, another bed, pre-war dresses, new(ish) pants and boots, and a little bit of armor. They carried it all back themselves, Cassidy went back for what they'd left behind, which mostly consisted of the mattress, while Ella got started on putting the bed frame together in the spare room.

It was dark when they finished, and flipped a cap to see who got the smaller bedroom, which turned out to be Cassidy, but Ella didn't know what she'd do with a desk and filing cabinet now that she didn't have any of the materials necessary to work. Restoring and copying old books was part of her chaplaincy, and her passion. She wondered idly if there was any unused ink in the ruins of the wasteland, or if there was a way to make ink using the new mutated plants that were sparsely scattered.

They sat on the floor by the kitchen, listening to the static that was meant to be Galaxy News Network, hearing a tune under the static every once in awhile, and split a Salisbury Steak and Cram, a Nuka-Cola between them, and shared the box of unidentifiable Junkfood for dessert. Even as they were eating it, neither knew what it could possibly have been. It tasted like slightly sweetened cardboard.

 


	3. Out of the Minefield and Into the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Cassidy head out to Minefield to earn some extra caps, where they meet a Dog, and something unforeseeable happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Attempted Rape/Non-Con is in this chapter. (Also abduction and mutilation)

_Ella Rhodes_

- _August 20th, 2277_ -

 

Ella packed up her bag as best as she could. The lunchbox really had come in handy, as she stuffed a small lunch of a box of Dandy Boy Apples and a Nuka Cola. Cassidy had gone back out to Moira, seeking information on the last part of the chapter. They might as well have done that, just so they could get it done while they were out scavenging. Instead of the vault suits, the two of them matched with thick military pants and combat boots, tan-brown tank tops, Tunnel Snake jackets (Butch's hung off of Ella in excess), and leather shoulder pads.

Other than the lunchbox, she packed away all of their Stimpaks and some Med-X, Rad-X, and Rad Aways, just in case. It was best not to take Psycho or Jet with them, especially with what had happened to Butch two years ago. Ella could still remember hearing Cassidy scream at him after he'd nearly died from some pre-war Psycho he'd found shoved in the back of the storeroom. It would fetch them a nice price anyways, and then maybe they wouldn't have had just Dandy Boy Apples to eat. She sighed when she realized that Cassidy could have taken them to sell off to Moira while she was there anyways.

They had split the weapons, Cassidy had the 10mm, brass knuckles, and a knife, favoring more close range, and she had the .32 tucked into her belt, the laser pistol strapped to her side, and assault rifle ready to be carried out, and each of them had a baseball bat as well.

She thought she heard Cassidy making her way up the steps that lead to their new home, and shouldered her bag, her baseball bat tied to the top of the backpack so that it wouldn't be in the way, but the footsteps passed and faded in the other direction, so she unshouldered her bag and checked her pip-boy. It was barely past 7 AM.

Cassidy appeared, with her own backpack, hopefully borrowed from Moira, but there was a good chance that they didn't have their 28 caps anymore. She quickly packed it, explaining while she was doing so where they would be going, and they shouldered their bags and made their way outside of Megaton. They stopped just outside of the gate to check the map again, and began to head North through Springvale. They again avoided the school, but were unlucky enough to run into a small pack of molerats, which Cassidy screamed at, and scrambled up the closest outcropping of rocks.

Ella took to slightly higher ground, but kept enough of a cool to deal with the molerats with no injuries to herself, though Cassidy had scraped her hand open against a particularly sharp rock. Ella didn't want to waste a stimpak for it, so she cleaned it up the best she could and bandaged it.

"Hand me your knife." She said to Cassidy.

"What for?"

"To cut them up." She said simply.

" _Why?_ " Cassidy gaped at her.

"If we're out in the wasteland overnight, it might be good to have some food. If we get back, we can always sell the meat to Jenny down at the Brass Lantern."

Cassidy stuck her tongue out and nearly gagged, handing over the knife to Ella and turning her back with the excuse that she was 'on lookout'.

"How do you know how to cut up a molerat anyways?"

"Not much different to how a surgeon would work. Obviously I'm not one, but along with first aid I learned anatomy. Molerats have all the same organs and extremities that we do."

"That's gross."

"Yeah... well... it beats being hungry. Have you seen how everyone looks up top?" She shook her head to herself, "They're all so skinny. And without a proper and filling diet, we'll soon lose our muscles and fat, and won't be able to defend ourselves or scavenge for more food as well as we can. We'd slowly deteriorate until we died from either starvation or lack of nutrition."

"Fine. But I'm not going to eat it."

"I'm sure it _tastes_ fine."

Cassidy grumbled, and Ella wrapped up the meat and stored it. They continued onwards to where the bridge was on the map, or more precisely, where a bridge should have been. Huge pieces of asphalt and whole cars had come tumbling down from it's raised position, and they had to take care to crawl down the rocks to the rivers' shore.

"What do we do now?"

"I suppose we'll just have to wade it. Unless you want to find another bridge?"

She checked, "It's too far away. We'd add another whole day just to the trip."

"Here's hoping we don't end up like Gob."

"That's mean to say." Ella chided her, "He can't help it."

"I know. I like him too, but I don't want to end up _looking_ like him."

They crossed part of the bridge that had fallen into the river, and then waded the rest of the way quickly and took a short rest. They avoided a group of coppery colored pools, and continued Northward, and soon came across four ruined houses, occupied by a wild dog and a molerat. Ella killed the molerat, while Cassidy was able to take on the dog, and Ella cut them up while Cassidy searched the wreckage of the houses. She found two dresses, which Ella wished they'd found before they'd bought the ones from Moira, a pre-war cap collection, which added about 40 caps to their purse, and a laser pistol and ammo, which she was very grateful for.

They continued on without incident, hiking up a hill and stopping to drink some Nuka under the overpass, and surveying what was ahead of them. Cassidy saw an area she immediately wanted to search. Ella thought it would be all right, they were making great time getting to Minefield and it was close-by to their destination anyways.

They made their way down carefully, and as they approached the yard, Ella could see that it was piled high with scrapped cars and trains and buses.

"Cool." Cassidy muttered, going into the computer on her pip-boy to mark the area as a place of interest. Ella couldn't see the appeal.

"What d'you want with all of this junk anyways?"

"Walter buys scrap metal, so I thought, why not? It's not that far of a walk over here anyways, we could make some good money off of it."

"And if Walter gets all that he needs in scrap metal?"

Cassidy shrugged, "We could always sell it to caravans. Repurpose them in some way? It'll at least be good for caps right now."

"Fine. But we should head out soon."

Cassidy nodded, and they walked through the maze of stacked cars. It all seemed useless to Ella, but Cassidy stared wide-eyeed at all of the old rusted cars, checked each one to see if there was something that she could grab right away.

They suddenly heard shots, it was coming from the far end of the scrapyard, so they ducked down, not knowing what sort of skirmish they'd be going into. They slowly made their way towards the other side as the shots petered off, and eventually stopped. As they were about to round a corner, a dog appeared, and Cassidy, being in front of Ella, was surprised enough to trip backwards and onto her back.

The dog kindly sat, and waited patiently for Cassidy to regain her footing and for Ella to stop laughing.

"He's a good dog, isn't he?" Ella cooed.

"Puh. At least he's not eating our faces. Like the last one." Cassidy huffed, "Kinda scrawny, don't you think? He wouldn't be able to do much attacking. He'd only be good as dog meat."

"Nonsense." Ella shook her head, "He'd be plenty capable. A little underweight, but he's in good condition, we could feed him all of the molerat meat you're not going to eat. And he's well trained too. We should keep him."

"Keep him where? We've hardly got room for ourselves back at home."

"Nah. Remember how cramped the vault was? We could cram at least... what... four or five people in our house back in Megaton? And a dog wouldn't take up much more space than a corner to sleep in. Isn't that right Dogmeat?"

Cassidy sighed, "Really? You already named it, and it's name is _that_?"

"Well, when you said it, it sounded good." Ella shrugged, "What would you call him?"

Cassidy thought it over for a moment, "Rex. Like a T-Rex. That's a good name for a dog that you'd want to bite the shit out of everyone."

"That's dumb."

"You're dumb."

Ella sighed, "Well, his name is Dogmeat. You can name the next one."

"I will!" Cassidy crossed her arms, then looked around, "What if Dogmeat's already _got_ an owner?"

She looked down to the dog, "Hey Dogmeat, can you take us to your owner?"

"He doesn't understand-"

Dogmeat barked once, then turned and weaved back through the maze of destroyed vehicles with ease.

"Oh... well... I guess we follow him then." Cassidy shrugged. They kept up, but only because Dogmeat would stop every once in awhile to let them catch up, and soon they found themselves at a corner of the scrapyard, bodies littered about. Ella could count five of them, four raiders and what appeared to be a wastelander or a scavenger. Cassidy checked everyone's pockets and came back with a 10mm and a hunting rifle.

"Everything else was trash." She shrugged, though she also got a helmet, which she rinsed out with a bottle of dirty water that one of them had been carrying, and then strapped it onto her head.

"You look like a bug." Ella pointed to it, "With little antenna at the top of your head."

"Well... at least it'll protect me. And it came with goggles too! It's too bright out here, ya'know?"

"Yeah." Ella grumbled, wishing she had a pair for herself as well. Or at least some sunglasses, though she'd only read about them in magazines, so she was unsure if they still existed.

They spent some time at the edge of the scrapyard, which afforded them their first view of Minefield. They sat and they ate their Dandyboy apples, and then, with their new dog, set off down the slope towards the buildings ahead of them.

Cassidy found a road that led into the small town, and they followed until Ella had spotted a landmine. Cassidy hung back as she approached the landmine as low to the ground as she could, and disarmed it.

She held it up for Cassidy to see, and in return she got a couple claps and a bark from Dogmeat.

"How'd you do that?"

"Oh, well... I studied one of the mines that Moira had laying around, and figured it out from there."

"Huh... you're really smart... you know th-"

The sound of a bullet whizzed through the air, Cassidy flattened herself against the pavement and Ella didn't move from the shield of the car by which the mine had been. Dogmeat barked, but kept himself close to them.

"Ella!" Cassidy called, "C'mon!" She yelled as she grabbed Ella by the arm and dragged her behind the only whole house they'd seen in the wastes so far. Only a few moments later and the car exploded, sending shrapnel past them, and after the sound of the explosion and the ringing in her ears died down, she thought she could hear laughter in the distance.

"You saved my life!" Ella cried, hoping that she wouldn't become a total mess, and sucked in a breath.

"What the fuck just happened?"

"Gimme the Hunting Rifle."

Cassidy handed it over without complaint, and Ella made her way to the corner of the house they'd sought shelter behind. She peeked around carefully, and spotted who it was, in a half-collapsed building at the end of the street. She lined up the hunting rifle, taking extra care to take into consideration the wind and distance, and fired. The man's laughter ceased.

"It's safe now." Ella said, handing the hunting rifle back to Cassidy, "Wait here and I'll disarm all the other landmines I can find."

"Uh... I think I'll check this house." Cassidy said, picking the lock easily and slipping inside.

Ella set off on her task, approaching every mine with caution and disabling them. When she'd reached the end of the road, she found the man who'd nearly killed them, and wrenched his sniper rifle from his dead grip, then continued on down another road and disabling all of those mines. Then the last street, and when all was said and done, she'd found and dismembered twenty-six of them.

Cassidy had checked all of the houses as their streets were cleared, and soon her backpack was overflowing with stuff. She'd set things down in the middle of the street so she could return to them later when they would be able to split the load between them. Dogmeat got a collar in the form of an old leather belt that she'd found. They got to the end of the street and it was well past dark, nearing midnight, and both decided to stay there in the best intact house they could find in the town for the night.

 

As tired as they were, they stayed up and counted up everything new they'd gotten. Apart from the twenty-six mines from the town, the hunting rifle from the scrapyard, and the sniper rifle from their attacker, Cassidy had found a silenced 10mm, a shotgun, five dresses (Four of which were in excellent quality, having not even a stain on them), four magazines (A Tumblers Today, a Medical Journal, a Pugilism Illustrated, and Grognak the Barbarian 'The Revenge of the Man-Saurian'). Throughout the four intact houses she'd only found a can of cram, a box of deviled eggs, two boxes of mac and cheese, and a Nuka Cola; but had also stripped the meat off of ten radroaches, which Ella stuck her tongue out at.

"Well... if I have to eat _Molerat_ , you have to eat Radroach." She huffed, then went back to maintaining their guns.

Cassidy had also found two Jet, four Med-X, and seven Stimpaks, which Ella was glad to have some more on hand, just in case. There was another lunchbox now, which Cassidy happily pointed out that 'they matched', eight pre-war books, and two pilot lights.

"I saw a still in one of the houses," She commented, "We should take it back, make our own beer. Probably would outsell Moriarty with his piss beer."

"Ugh... I _still_ can't believe we drank that."

" _Drank_ implies that we didn't spit it out immediately. I'd rather drink Bea's bathtub moonshine than that swill."

"Don't bring up bathtub moonshine. That was gross."

Cassidy shrugged. They crawled into the, thankfully intact, double bed, with Dogmeat joining them between them, and fell asleep.

 

 

- _August 21st, 2277_ -

 

They had a late start, partially because they'd slept in and partially because while leaving the house, Cassidy had found an old camera, and Ella was able to confirm that there was still film in it. They split deviled eggs and cram while she figured out the timer on it, as Cassidy wanted a photo. It came out grainy, but pretty good considering it was 200 years old, standing in front of the house they'd slept in, Cassidy standing and Ella kneeling to pet Dogmeat between them. Cassidy took a second picture, just in case, and each of them got their own.

"It's only fair," She shrugged as she packed up the camera to take back with them.

Once that was done they packed everything equally between them, and headed out at about noon, and back to the scrapyard they'd found Dogmeat at yesterday. Cassidy took off into the maze, with Dogmeat chasing after her and barking playfully.

Ella couldn't help but smile as she found a place to sit on the concrete wall and made herself comfortable. It was more overcast today than it had been yesterday, but Sheriff Simms had already warned them of the dangers of getting caught out in the wasteland during any kind of weather that wasn't clear. Storms were bad, but radstorms were worse, and soon, Simms had said, there'd be irradiated snow on the ground, and all travel would be impossible.

She sincerely hoped that they could find her dad before then, or at the very least, if they had to spend a winter in Megaton, that he was in a safe place.

Ella was so consumed by her thoughts about her father and the impending winter that she didn't hear anyone approaching until there was a dirty glove pressed against her mouth and dragging her backwards. It all happened very quickly that she couldn't recall many details, but at the same time it felt like a lifetime that would never end.

She kicked and scratched, but it seemed to not have any affect on her abductors. Ella fumbled for her .32, but couldn't seem to loose it from under her belt. She was thrown down onto the ground, the .32 ripped from her belt and tossed away. She screamed, hoping that Cassidy or Dogmeat could hear her.

One raider of the group of six smacked her across the face with the butt of his rifle and her vision blurred. She could already feel blood dripping down her face, but through the shock and the pain, couldn't tell where she was bleeding from.

"Fresh blood," One man chuckled, "Must be a run-away from one of the more protected settlements."

Ella could hear another one spit, "Pft... If I had a cap for every time some dumb sheltered kid ran away from home..."

The first man grabbed her face, looking her over, "You hit her too hard you fucking idiot. A girl like this with a full face like she has would've gotten us a fortune."

"It'll heal." The man who'd attacked her grumbled loudly, "Ain't no slave without a few scars and bruises. I left her supplies back there, that'll cover the difference."

"Hell, I don't think it'll just scar, man. I think you broke her fucking eye socket. It looks like she might go blind."

"Just means it'll be harder for her to escape."

"Man, she looks fucked up." Another raider piped up from the back.

"That's what _I'm_ sayin'. We could've gotten an assload of caps for a slave with no marks. Think of the auction we could've had, we'd've been fuckin' _legends_."

"What's done is done." Said one in the back, now making his way up to Ella. It seemed to her that he was the boss of this group of assholes, if their parting for him like the red sea was any indication. "She'll sell high anyways. Y'see how she hardly has any callouses? Nice soft hands for soft work, if you get what I'm sayin'."

Ella wished she had the knife, but Cassidy usually had it strapped to her boot.

Their leader leaned in real close to her, "Get me my carvin' knife. I think it'll be more fun to break her before sellin' her off. And maybe a little bit more fun afterwards as well."

She was grabbed on all sides, and she tried to wriggle out of their tough grips, or try to kick out at the raider boss, but he was too close, kneeling between her legs, for her to get in a good hit. One of his lackeys came back with the knife their boss wanted.

"No! Stop it!" She yelled, but it only caused one of the raiders to cover her mouth again. She tried to bite down as hard as she could, but only got a mouthful of dirty leather. Her tank top was ripped and she tried screaming again for Cassidy, but her yells her muffled.

Only a moment after her tanktop and jacket were pulled off her left shoulder did she feel the metal pierce her skin. Her desperate cries for help turned into shrieks of pain as the boss carved into the flesh of her chest.

"Heh," He laughed as he wiped her blood off the knife on her ruined tank top, "Now you and everyone who sees this will know that you belong to Sister."

The other men who had held her tossed her down to sob and bleed into the dirt. And they laughed with their boss, until a shot echoed through the air and one of the lackey's head exploded into chunks of blood and brain as the bullet decimated the back of his skull.

"Oh shit!" One of them yelled, and they all began to run, some of them fumbling for their weapons, but those who did were shot down quickly, leaving only two of the raiders to make it out of shooting distance. Dogmeat attacked one that had only an injured leg, Ella could hear him screaming while the dog descended on his neck for the kill.

She was suddenly swept up into the arms of Cassidy.

"Oh my god!" She cried when she looked her over. Cassidy tried to comfort her, but her voice was shaking. "It's gunna be okay."

"Stimpak." She mumbled through her sobbing. Cassidy quickly brought one out, but Ella remembered that Cassidy didn't know how to apply a stim and her hands were shaking too much to be able to handle it herself. Cassidy seemed to also think about this, and looked at her uncertainly.

Ella shuffled out of the jacket, and pressed her thumb and forefinger around her vein, then instructed Cassidy on what to do as calmly as she could. She was able to administer the entire thing on the second try for the vein, and then helped Ella back into the jacket, and zipped it up for her.

She hauled Ella to her feet and walked with her back to where her backpack had been left. Cassidy helped her into the backpack, and then went to retrieve her own backpack.

"What's that?" She asked, trying to put her mind on anything but what had just occurred.

"Part of a power armor frame," She said, to it was tied her backpack and a few pieces of scrap metal. It was only the upper back part of the frame, which she secured around her front with a few belts they'd scavenged from Minefield. It looked terribly heavy, but as soon as she was able to secure it on herself, she walked just fine with it.

"What d'you want it for though?"

"I can carry more with it!" Cassidy forced a smile, Ella could see right through it, but forced a smile in return.

Dogmeat arrived back, blood staining his muzzle, she was definitely going to roast up a molerat steak just for him when they got back, and they quickly went South, not stopping for any breaks as they booked it back to Megaton.

Even at their quickened pace they arrived after midnight and were forced to take their new stuff back to their home rather than straight to Moira. Ella practically fell into her bed as soon as she saw it, wanting nothing more than to fall into an endless sleep. After a few minutes, she got up and moved her chair to jam it under the doorknob.

 


	4. A Mundane Diagnosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got to a Cassidy part in this chapter. :D

_Ella Rhodes_

- _August 22nd, 2277_ -

 

Ella bolted awake, not knowing why she had been startled. A few moments of heavy breathing and looking around the room panicked she heard a knock on her door.

"Ella?" She heard muffled through the door, "I made breakfast."

"O-okay." She said shakily, "I'm coming."

She took a minute or two to calm her breathing, then crossed the room and un-jammed the door. Cassidy waited for her downstairs.

"How's my face look?" She asked.

"Not much better." Cassidy said honestly, a frown on her face. "Ella... I'm so sorry. We shouldn't've separated-"

"No, it's not your fault. We just... don't have much experience out here, do we?"

Cassidy shook her head, "Can you see out of that eye?"

"It's still blurry, why?"

"Oh... well... it doesn't look good. Maybe we should go to that clinic?"

"Later. I just- I just want to rest."

Cassidy nodded, then turned and brought out the food she'd prepared for breakfast. She'd gone down and borrowed the stovetop of the Brass Lantern and cooked up _something_ for them.

"What is it?" She poked at the gray-ish and red things that looked a little like a picture of pancakes she'd once seen in an ad in the back of a Grognak that Amata had leant her.

"Cram and dandy boy apples. I mixed them together and fried it up." Cassidy set a Nuka in front of her.

" _Really_?"

"Don't knock it 'til you tried it. I made it back in 101 and loved it. Nobody would eat it though."

Ella sighed. If she were back in the vault, she would have refused it too, but now they didn't have the luxury of already portioned and rationed meals, with a hundred years of food stored away for their future generations as well.

She took a bite, and was pleasantly surprised. She didn't very much like cram in the first place, and she ate dandy boy apples rarely, as they were sometimes too sweet, but they balanced really well against each other, and together tasted better than each separately. Ella quickly ate, Cassidy smiling with victory all throughout. Dogmeat even got to enjoy a bite or two of their breakfast in addition to his own molerat steak.

After breakfast they sorted through their things once again. The sniper rifle went to her, and the hunting rifle and shotgun went to Cassidy. She took apart everything else to fix up what they'd already had. Ella got the medicine journal and the eight books that had survived the war, while Cassidy took the Tumblers Today and Pugilism Illustrated for herself, and Grognak was left out in the living room for them both.

Since there were five dresses, they decided they could sell one. Ella got a pink sleeveless one and a green long sleeved, while Cassidy got a green sleeveless and a blue long sleeved dress. The other dress, another pink one, was put aside to sell.

Their new food, including the radroach meat and molerat meat, were put in the fridge for storage, and all of the chems were gathered up and sorted.

The Stimpaks and Med-X were put away for their next venture out, though Ella didn't want to think about that at the moment, and the Jet and Psycho they'd accumulated were put aside with the dress to sell to Moira, as was the twenty-six mines that she had disarmed. Scrap metal was added to the pile for Walter.

Cassidy stuck them all in her backpack she'd emptied out, and went on her way. Ella laid down on the couch, and though she didn't remember falling asleep, she was startled awake by the door when Cassidy had returned.

"You look really red." She said first, "And your eye doesn't look any better either. Maybe you should go to the clinic now?"

"Why? I feel fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Well... my skin is itchy and everything's still little blurry. But I already took a stim, remember? And besides, you're red too."

Cassidy looked down at her arm, her hand and her wrist were two different colors. "Yeah, but you look _worse_. Look."

Ella looked down at her arm, her hands were very red and her wrist was white. Cassidy stepped forward and took a closer look.

"Jeez, your face is _peeling_!"

"What? Why's it doing that?" She panicked. Her mind tried to go through all sorts of diseases that she could have picked up, and somewhere near the top of the list she thought that maybe this was the beginning of a ghoulification, but she didn't remember being exposed to much radiation except for when she'd defused the bomb, and Moira had taken care of that so that she'd be back down to a normal amount. Before she could think about it for too long, Cassidy pulled her up and dragged her to the door. She was 'helped' down into the center of town and to the clinic.

Doc Church grumbled as he looked her over, he checked her left eye and her skin, and the cuts on her eyebrow and cheek from the rifle. He also cleaned out and bandaged the cut on her shoulder, which was carved in the shape of an 'S' and then looked between them, "You should have come to me sooner. It's likely that you'll have some vision impairment and a scar for the rest of your life."

She didn't like that analysis, but she was also worried for something that could be far greater, "And my skin peeling?" She asked.

"And how itchy she says she is?"

"Sunburn. The worst I've seen, but you're not used to the sun like we wastelanders are. I'd suggest waiting until you've healed from it before going outside anymore. Even around town. Better protection for your face and hands too. Miss DeLoria's skin is a little less pale than yours, and was less affected by it, but if she's out for much longer without any protection, she'll probably be about as red as you. And _try_ not to _scratch_ at it."

Ella frowned. With her vision messed up, it would become harder for her to do even the most basic of things, let alone going out into the wasteland and searching for her dad. And now she had to deal with a sunburn. It could take awhile before it was fully healed, likely that she would be able to travel freely after the early fall rains had set in. And then there'd be very little travel going through the Capital Wasteland until spring. Which meant that it was likely she wouldn't be able to chase down any leads on her father for another seven months.

They returned to the house and sat.

"It's not all bad." Cassidy said, "I mean, it could be worse."

"I know."

Cassidy frowned, "And I can still go out and do things. I'll go to Galaxy News Radio, and see where your dad went."

"By yourself?"

Cassidy nodded.

"But Gob said that downtown was crawling with ghouls and super mutants." She shook her head, still remembering his hasty warning when he had overheard Moriarty give them directions to where her dad had gone, "I doubt we'd be able to make it together, let alone by yourself or myself."

"It'll be fine." She smiled in return, "I'm great at sneaking you know. And there's a few things for Moira's next chapter I can do to earn some more caps. And maybe I'll scavenge a few more places, really outfit myself before I go."

Ella was unsure, "But... what if you die in downtown DC?"

"Well I won't care then. Because I'll be dead. You can't care about you dying if you're already dead."

"You'll at least take Dogmeat with you, right?"

Cassidy shook her head, "Nah. I want you to have some protection here. Even if we are behind the walls of Megaton, I don't want you by yourself. Especially with your vision being blurry. That, and I don't want him becoming a meal for a ghoul or super mutant."

"But you could-"

"Ella, I'm going to go. I mean, we should at least know where your dad is before winter sets in, right?"

She agreed, but it still didn't sit right with her knowing that Cassidy would be going by herself, with no one to back her up. But she was adamant about it.

"Anyways, I already promised Moira I'd do the next chapter. She mentioned two areas that I could go to for both, so I'll just go do them at the same time while I'm in that neighborhood."

Ella sighed, "All right, but take Dogmeat with you for the research and scavenging."

" _Fine_." She grumbled in response, "But you stay inside while I'm gone!"

"All right."

 

They ate dinner in silence, and went to bed, though Ella could hardly sleep from worry. Cassidy left before the sun had risen, and all Ella could do was wait.

 

 

_Cassidy DeLoria_

- _August 23rd, 2277_ -

 

Cassidy strode towards the Super Duper Mart, because she knew there was an intact bridge nearby where she could cross. It was nearly seven when she arrived there, and she shared a quick breakfast with Dogmeat, then crossed hesitantly. If raiders had been smarter, they'd have taken over the bridge, as it was the only safe passage towards and away from downtown DC. It could make for a perfect funnel to trap travelers and take advantage of them. That was if raiders were smart, but they clearly were not.

She saw two of them, but they didn't see her. They were too preoccupied with each other, and the rest of their gang was busy down on the waterfront either sleeping or arguing over who got the last can of cram. It was still pretty early in the day, and she didn't think that the raiders ever bothered to set when they went to sleep so that they could wake up early in the morning. It wasn't like pre-war or in the vault, where people had jobs they needed to go to.

Cassidy crept down the ruined sidewalks past the unaware raiders, checking the scope of the sniper rifle every once in awhile. She spotted a living monstrosity, a mutated something, with arms for legs and three swirling tentacle-like tongues that couldn't even fit in it's mouth. She shot both of the ones she had seen quickly and from far away so that she wouldn't have to see them up close – which was stupid because she needed to pass them anyways. She just did her best to ignore them while Dogmeat sniffed as they went by.

She ducked down when she saw the first mirelurk, but Moira's description of one didn't do it justice. It just looked... odd. Almost like a human carrying a big bowl on it's back and wearing a fishmen halloween mask. She wondered idly if there were any film reels of that movie left, it at least looked entertaining, if the poster in the cafeteria's pantry was anything to go by.

Cassidy was getting distracted, so she turned her attention back to the mirelurks patrolling their nest. Dogmeat obediently followed her closely, even though the short swim, until she got to the door which held even more mirelurks as well as their nests. She could always lie to Moira, and say that she didn't kill any, but where was the challenge in that?

"Dogmeat, I know you're a super smart dog," He yawned at her, "So I want you to stay here at the door, and if any Mirelurks come, lead them away from the door, got it?"

He sat and panted, and she could only hope that it meant that he had understood her. She ventured in, hearing all sorts of ungodly clicking and sucking sounds. She stepped in carefully, keeping low and staying close to the wall to keep from being seen, or heard, or however the Mirelurks hunted. She just hoped that it wasn't by smell, though with how dank and fishy it was in there, she didn't think she'd have a problem with that department. The problem would mostly lie in not throwing up her breakfast. She placed the device, whatever Moira had called it, and high-tailed it out of there, finding Dogmeat in the spot where she'd left him not moments ago.

The two of them crept away, and she checked her map. The next thing to do was _molerats_.

She took a big breath in through her nose, then another, then another. Dogmeat sat next to her patiently where they'd hid away from the patrolling mirelurks.

She breathed out. It wasn't going to be good, at all, but hopefully the repellent that Moira had claimed it was would work on the molerats. It was only a matter of time when she found the door to the sewers that Moira had mentioned, though why she had actually _agreed_ to go hit molerats with a stick in the sewers, she'd never understand.

Cassidy opened the door and stood at the head of the stairs. The smell was much worse than the mirelurk nests had been. She began to breath through her mouth, just so that the smell was lessened.

"Just remember, you're doing this for Ella. Ella got hurt because of you, it's your fault." She told herself, "You need to do it for Ella."

Cassidy stepped down two steps, then leapt back up to the doorway when she heard the trademark skittering of molerat feet. One such beast peeked it's head around the corner, and she held the repellent stick in front of her defensively. Dogmeat growled.

The molerat eyed her. It's beady little black eyes piercing her in a way that nothing else did. It was worse than being stabbed or shot by raiders. It was worse than a - _very cold_ \- chem shower in the vault.

She breathed. It wasn't worse than seeing the scar forming over Ella's eye and brow.

The molerat, totally unaware of her inner struggle, took one step up the stairs slowly, then another, then leapt at her so quickly that she didn't even remember swinging the stick down until it's head burst open upon contact with the weapon. It rolled back down the stairs.

"That wasn't so hard... was it?" She said, her voice still uneven and unconvincing even to her own ears. She stepped down the stairs and looked into the first room at the bottom. Two molerats swiveled their heads to look at her.

She nearly jumped out of her own skin. It was definitely going to be a _long_ day.

 

Cassidy sat atop the entrance to where the sewers were, Dogmeat by her side. The sun was setting, and she was busy taking off her shirt and wrapping it around her new bullet wound that may or may not have shattered the bone in her forearm. Why had there been a pair of raiders down in the sewers anyways? She was so startled, that she now realized that she hadn't even checked them for supplies, though she wasn't about to go back into that stench now for a few caps and guns that would eventually just become scrap and parts for other guns. The wound had hurt like a motherfucker, but after a dose of Med-X and a stimpak to stabilize the bleeding, she felt all right. At least she was glad that Ella had shown her an easy work around for using the needles on herself.

She zipped up the jacket with her bandaged arm tucked in as the chill set in. It was becoming dark quickly, and she knew that it would likely be morning by the time she would arrive back to Megaton, barring any more hang ups. She lugged a short hunting rifle in her good arm, and stepped down from her perch, and began to weave her way back up towards the bridge.

The mirelurks had all converged for the night, and likewise had the raiders she'd seen earlier, some of them too strung out to notice anything, or arguing over who got the last slice of radroach. And thus she passed them by without any sort of trouble what-so-ever. She'd have to employ the strategy when she came back to use the subway tunnels to get to GNN.

She stopped to rest at the Super Duper Mart, the injury she'd sustained and just sheer tiredness made her sluggish and an easy target. Though, sleeping outside of Megaton didn't appeal to her, at least, not like the mostly intact pre-war home had. Cassidy and Dogmeat continued, and while she hiked up a hill, he went off and killed a few bloatflies that were wandering nearby.

When she stopped again to rest as she and Dogmeat neared the gates, she fished out her pip-boy to check the time.

 

- _August 24th, 2277_ -

 

She'd made it back, with only a gunshot and a few nightmares that would haunt her to her dying day. But she'd made it back. She shuffled past Simms as he left his shack, and made her way over to Moira, who was a little surprised to see her so early, as she had just woken up herself and had only just unlocked the door.

Moira treated her arm. It wasn't broken, as she'd thought it was, but Moira gave her a medical brace, and she'd have to ask Ella later how long she thought that she'd have to have it on. Probably awhile. It put her plans of going into DC back a little bit, but she wasn't about to allow Ella into what was commonly known as 'hell on Earth' to everyone that seemed to talk to about it.

She gave her report on the mirelurks and the molerats. Moira was ecstatic to hear that the mirelurks were none the wiser to her little machine, but disheartened to find out about how her home made repellent made mole rats heads explode.

Cassidy was paid, as she usually opted for caps rather than whatever Moira was willing to foist onto her, and browsed her wares a little bit while she outlined the next chapter for her. All of it – maybe with exception to heading out to RobCo – was more up Ella's alley, so she was sure to put it very plainly to Moira that it may take awhile to get everything she asked for. She did make a list though of what it was the Moira wanted, which she stuck in her jacket pocket immediately.

She sold what little she had brought back with her, and traded for a few items of food, and spied a hat that she thought would be perfect for Ella when her sunburn had ceased to keep her from travelling out of the house.

"I want that hat."

"Really?" Moira looked at the 'plain, old hat' skeptically, "Not the shady hat that I made just for you?"

" _Fine_ , I'll take both. Just give it."

"Okay!" Moira chirped and handed them both over. She left Craterside and heaved herself up to the house that she and Ella shared. Ella came out to talk with her, but Cassidy was so tired that she just handed off the stormchaser hat off to Ella and then went up the stairs to flop onto her bed, and slept soundly.

 


	5. Restoration

_Ella Rhodes_

- _August 25th, 2277_ -

 

Ella sighed as she got ready for the day; waking up, getting dressed, making breakfast and feeding Dogmeat, and Cassidy had still not come down by the time that she'd pulled out the food for their breakfast.

She ventured up slowly, peeking into Cassidy's room as quietly as the old metal door would allow her to be. Cassidy slept soundly.

Ella didn't want to wake her. She knew that Cassidy had probably been through a lot, given how tired and ragged she'd looked when she had returned, and it hadn't escaped her notice that her left arm was now in a medical brace and was kept close to her body.

She left her to sleep.

She'd gone to take a nap soon after Cassidy had returned, she'd been worried and hadn't slept well the night before, and it seemed to have caught up with her and she'd slept through the rest of the day and that night unintentionally. Ella looked over the hat that she'd been given last night. A canvas wrap, with a wide-brimmed tan hat and goggles atop of it. It would certainly keep the sun out of her face, as that was the only reason that she could conclude as to why Cassidy would have bought such a thing.

Ella tried it on, and examined herself in the mirror. It cut down her already limited vision further, but the canvas wrap cooled and comforted the back of her neck, even right now when she wasn't out in the sun. She could see that maybe she'd need something else to cover her nose and mouth, but she hoped the the hat by itself would just be fine.

Cassidy finally made her way downstairs after a time, and they both shared in some Noodles that Ella had traded a package of Dandy Boy Apples for that morning. It was a nice change to all of the old world food they'd been eating. Cassidy had asked her about her wound, so she examined her arm closer.

"Well, since you've already used a stim on it, it shouldn't be too much longer before it's healed. Less than a week, I'd say."

"So in September," Cassidy sighed, "I might not make it into DC before winter."

"I certainly wouldn't want you to be stuck in DC during winter," Ella replied, "Simms said that the rains of autumn will be coming soon, so I don't think there'll be much travelling of any kind."

"Did he say when the rains usually come?" Cassidy said, something clearly on her mind as she forked some noodles into her mouth.

"Mid to late September, or early October. Though he said that it's usually on and off, a week of rain and a week or two of clear weather. At least until winter sets in."

"Hmmm..."

"What're you thinking about?"

"Well... I thought maybe we could go clear out that school in Springvale."

"There's raiders in it though."

"I know that," Cassidy sighed, "But I cleared out the Super Duper Mart. Raiders need loot to steal and stuff, and maybe they've got a cache, or at least some supplies. It's sort of what they do, y'know, raid things and steal stuff."

"But do you think that it will get us through the winter? We need caps, and we need food."

"Sure. They've got to have weapons too, we can pawn some of them off on Moira. Most of our guns are the best I can fix them up, so we can always get rid of the excess."

"I suppose," Ella thought, "When would you want to do this?"

"Well, obviously when my arm is better. A week or so from now."

She sighed and leaned back into her chair, "What do we do until then?"

"What do you mean?" Cassidy asked around the last mouthful of noodles.

"All we've been doing is scavenging and selling and helping Moira with her book since we left the Vault. I don't really think we have much in the way of applicable skills that can be used around Megaton."

"Hmmm...." Cassidy thought for awhile, "Well, I can cook, but I don't want Jenny to run us out of town for setting up in the same settlement. I can fix a few things here and there."

"But you've already fixed the pipes of Megaton," She pointed out, "Unless another leak springs up, I wouldn't think that you'd have much to do."

"I'll think of something," She snapped her fingers, "But I just thought of something you can do!"

"What could I do?"

"I saw a bunch of old books in Moira's shop, I thought maybe you could restore them, like you did in the Vault. She'd probably pay to have them restored."

"I... suppose," Ella sighed, "But I don't have any supplies. I'd need ink and a pen of some kind. Reading glasses or a magnifying glass."

"Reading glasses?"

"I couldn't see terribly well before my injury," She huffed, "Only when trying to read small print though, so I wore reading glasses. And they weren't exactly at the top of my list when I was trying to escape the Vault."

"Ah, anything else?"

"A good source of light," She answered, "I can't restore things I can't see."

"All right. Well, maybe I could find some stuff."

"Where are you going to find all of that?"

Cassidy shrugged, "I dunno, but I'll see."

 

At the end of the day, when Ella had thought about pulling out dinner, Cassidy returned with her backpack full of stuff. She pulled out the items and laid them all out to show off, and Ella could only gawk.

Before her was a bent metal pen, which Cassidy had apparently found at the bottom of one of Walters' boxes, a jar of ink which she had gotten from Mother Maya, a spare pair of reading glasses from Doc Church, a lantern and oil from Moira, and a stack of books. An electrical manual from Walter, some old world romance novel from Mother Maya, a Medical Journal from Doc Church, and a Manta Man comic from Moira.

"I told them all that if you couldn't restore them, then I'd pay for the supplies and the books. They all seemed pretty eager when I told them what restoring books was."

"This is... _crazy._ " Ella giggled, "I can't believe you pulled all of this together."

"I know right?" Cassidy smiled from ear to ear, "So, is all of this good for what you need?"

Ella nodded, "I couldn't have asked for better quality from the Capital Wasteland. All right, let's eat and I'll start on one of them tonight before I head to bed."

They each ate squirrel on a stick, even though they'd never seen any squirrels about the wasteland, and didn't want to ask where Jenny had gotten squirrel meat, and split a package of YumYum Deviled Eggs.

Ella retreated upstairs and set everything on her desk, going through the books before decided that the Manta Man comic might be the easiest one to tackle, and then put all the others into the filing cabinet next to the desk. She hung the lantern up and lit it, and began to work.

 

 

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-August 30th, 2277-_

 

She stood next to a tired Ella as Moira went through the Manta Man comic that had been repaired. The trader had awed over it and squealed when one of the destroyed pages had been completely restored, sans color.

"How'd you do it?" Moira ask excitedly, "Did aliens give you the gift? Or maybe you were taught by sentient Radroaches!"

Ella shook her head, "Just years of work. The comic was in good enough shape to be restored, so it was pretty easy."

"Oh!" She cried out, setting down the Manta Man much more carefully than either of them thought that Moira was ever capable of. She ran around, filling her arms with books and magazines and comics and bringing them back to set on her counter, "Could you do more? Could you do all of these? There'd be a lot of money if the letters were actually legible!"

"I'd have to look them over," Ella said, "And I have a few others to do already, so these may take some time."

Cassidy nodded, "I traded work for the supplies she needed to start, so there's, what like, four more things?"

"Three," Ella corrected, "I think the book for Mother Maya may take the longest."

"That's all right! Take them anyways!" Moira replied in that bubbly voice of hers, "I'll give you half of whatever I get for them."

"Make it-" She was about to haggle a better percentage, but Ella cut her off with an elbow, thankfully to her right arm.

"Sure."

"Oh, and I almost forgot!" She chirped as she turned around again, and then pressed a small pouch that looked to be filled to the brim with caps, "A hundred and fifty! Thank you for fixin' it! Manta Man's my favorite!"

 

Ella went though the books that Moira had gathered while they were still at Craterside Supply, finding that five of them were beyond repair, so Moira was determined to sell them to the next caravan that came through before she could sell the restored books. Then the word would be out, she explained, and then nobody would have wanted those un-fixable books. It was either that, or she was going to throw them into a heap outside the walls of Megaton.

Maybe if they built some kind of non-electric stove, they'd be able to use the destroyed books for fuel, the mechanic had wondered to herself.

When they returned home, Ella went straight back into working upstairs. Cassidy thought about taking apart and servicing their collection of guns, but then decided against it. They were all still in pretty good shape, and they wouldn't really need them for another week when they went to rid the Springvale School of raiders. She hopped up the stairs and peeked into Ella's room.

"I'm going to go to Moriarty's for a drink."

"Why?" Ella asked, fiddling with her pen, "He pisses in the still."

"I know that," She replied, "I didn't say I was going to buy his _beer._ "

"All right," Ella sighed, "But don't let him try to pressure you into going _upstairs_ with him."

"Pft. He wishes."

They both laughed, and Cassidy left their house and made quick work of the walk over to the saloon. The bar was near empty, most people were over at the Brass Lantern for dinner before they'd come up here for drinks afterwards. There was only Gob and Nova hanging around, and Cassidy couldn't spot Moriarty anywhere.

"Where's the boss man?" She asked as she sat at the bar.

"Off his tits upstairs." Nova spit out from her corner under the stairs.

Gob smiled at her, "You gunna fix the radio signal one of these days like ya promised?"

She held her slung arm up for show, "Might take a little while longer."

"Enclave works just fine, Gob." Nova said.

"Yeah yeah, _Enclave._ What a bunch of nonsense."

"We have it on sometimes at the house," Cassidy said after ordering a glass of whiskey, "It's mostly just background noise."

"Ain't your house the one that gets reception the best for GNN?"

"Yeah, why? You want to have a sleepover?"

"Just sayin'," Gob replied, filling her whiskey, "Where's Ella? I haven't seen her in awhile."

"Moriarty freaked her out last time. I think she gets drinks exclusively at the Lantern now," Cassidy threw back her whiskey, "Not that she drinks much to begin with. Though she says she misses you."

"She's a good kid," Gob refilled her glass, "S'too bad that Moriarty doesn't like to keep his hands to himself."

"Yeah. We're going to try to clear out the school down in Springvale after my wounds heal and before the rains come in. You want me to keep an eye out for anything?"

"Nah," Gob grumbled, "Moriarty'd just take it away if I have it."

"Even if he don't want it," Nova frowned, "He'll take it just so you won't have it."

Others began to filter into the bar, so she took her leave. She didn't like crowded places, it reminded her too much of the Vault. She took a little more time in coming back, taking a longer way around so that she could enjoy the crisp air of the evening.

When she finally did return, she fed Dogmeat and fumbled through the fridge, settling for eating half a box of Dandy Boy Apples, before dragging herself upstairs and throwing herself at her bed. She could still see the light of the lantern in Ella's room through the holes in the wall as she continued to work. Cassidy hoped that she wouldn't be up all night again.

 

 

_Ella Rhodes_

_-September 8th, 2277-_

 

Cassidy was down at the Brass Lantern, trying to sell (and to avoid touching) the radroach meat they'd gotten from a rogue radroach that had managed to find its' way into their house. Cassidy had screamed, and Ella had ended up being the one to bash it to death with her baseball bat, then wrapping it up and sending Cassidy off with it while she took care of other business.

She had finished restoring the romance novel for Mother Maya. It was the next one on her list, and was the longest she'd had to do. She'd barely even gotten any sleep since she'd started, not wanting to wait on it since they'd all given Cassidy the supplies she needed to work with upfront.

Ella hadn't done Mother Mayas' first because she wanted to avoid the Children of Atom as much as she could, otherwise she would have done it before the Manta Man comic, just to get it out of the way. The news of the bomb being defused had gotten around, and the church had heard about it. She didn't want to know their opinion of her, because they probably didn't think very highly of the act she'd done, even if it was to make the town safer.

 

She stepped in as quietly as possible, though it was all for nothing, because Cromwell was sitting in a chair just a little ways from the door and had turned to see who had come in. He was already in a conversation with someone else, and had turned back to them, and that eased some of her uncertainty as she quickly found Mother Maya and handed off the book.

"Oh, thank you," The old woman smiled to her and grabbed for her cap purse. She produced only a few caps, without counting Ella estimated only about thirty, nearly the opposite of what she'd been paid for everything else. Mother Maya took her questioning look and answered it politely, or had just felt the need to explain herself, "I'm sorry I can't give you more, this is all that I have."

Ella sighed, "Then, you should keep it. At least to buy dinner with..."

"Oh, I'll be fine."

"I insist. I've got plenty of caps, more than enough to get by," She pushed the cap purse back into Mother Maya's hands, who accepted it shakily.

She gave her a watery smile, "Bless you. When I make ink next, I'll give you some."

"You make your own ink?"

Mother Maya nodded, "It's part of my job here at the church. It's only mostly used for notes and things like that, so I'm much happier knowing now that it'll be used for something vastly more useful."

"Of course I'll pay for the ink," Ella replied to her, "It wouldn't feel right to just take some when it's your craft."

"Oh! You're so kind. Really very, very kind. Most people who'd hear that something is free would just take it, and not even thank anyone for it."

"I'm not like that," Ella sighed, "I'd feel much better knowing that you'd have some money to support yourself. What do you make your ink out of, though? I go out into the wastes sometimes, so if I can find anything, I could bring it back."

She shook her head, "It's a mixture of mutfruit leaves and brahmin blood, or molerat blood. I usually get it from Jenny, then it takes awhile for it to become something other than some strange syrup. Don't tell anyone I told you my secret recipe for ink, though. Moira's been pestering me about it for years."

Ella smiled to Mother Maya, "Your secret is safe with me."

Confessor Cromwell came down the stairs and to the two of them, "If you'll excuse me, I thought that perhaps we could have a word?" The confessor rasped out.

Mother Maya patted her on the shoulder and smiled, then left them alone. Ella nervously followed Cromwell as he led her to a couple of empty chairs in a corner, so that they could talk more privately.

"My wife has told me a few different things that she's heard about you around town, I wanted to know, are they true?" He asked her.

"Er... Yes," She nearly whispered, "I'm really sorry that I defused the bomb, but not everyone feels as safe around it as-"

He waved her off, "Oh, no, no. I'm not talking about that."

Ella was surprised, "Wait... you're not?"

He shook his head, "Whether or not that holy body creates new life or not is not up to us mortals to decide. If it is Atoms' will, then a few missing wires are not going to stop it."

"Uh... I... don't understand."

"I was asking about if you were really a Chaplain of a religion. I was wondering just what it was that you practiced," He explained.

"Oh," She sighed with relief, "Um, in the Vault we were practiced more sort of a vague theism, so that everyone could be included. A lot of my work was just procuring materials, restoring old books, and cleaning the chapel."

"Ah, it sounds a bit like the Priests of All Faiths."

"The what of what now?"

"All Faiths. I've only heard about them second-hand, from what my wife has told me. She talks to the caravaners sometimes. I don't know exactly what they do or where they are, I've never met one, but there are chapels of All Faiths, where everyone can go and pray, no matter what religion that they practice."

"Oh... So, I guess that a Priest of All Faiths could counsel or console anyone, no matter what their religion is?" She thought about it for a bit, "It sounds very... interesting."

"I was, of course, going to ask you to join our church. We do have plenty of believers here, and we're always hoping to expand our little group."

"Er, I don't really understand what you believe in though."

"We Children of Atom believe that each single atomic mass in all of creation contains within it its own universe," He said, "And when that atomic mass is split, a single universe divides and becomes two universes. Thus signifying the single greatest act of Atoms' creation."

"Oh!" She realized, "Oh! So it's more of a theological understanding of the sciences. You worship life in all forms, even in something that's seen as a destruction."

"That is correct," the Confessor said, "And I wanted to ask you to join us, but once I found out what kind of religion you had practiced before, I thought that perhaps you'd be better suited as a Priest of All Faiths."

"You'd really rather me be a part of something else?"

Cromwell shrugged, "You are a wanderer, I can see it in your eyes," He said, "And if you were a Priest of All Faiths, you'd also be carrying the will and guidance of Atom to those who believe in it as well."

"Okay... how do I become a Priest of All Faiths?"

"I don't know," He replied, shrugging his thin shoulders slightly, "If I had to assume, it would be to learn about each religion, and be able to speak on each one with authority. But I wouldn't know. Oh, I've got some things I can give you."

He brought her back upstairs, and to a little chest that he and his wife shared, and opened it up. He handed her a book, it was a compilation of his own sermons and the sermons of the Confessor before him, and an icon that hung from a string. The icon was a little piece of copper, crudely fashioned into the shape of a cloaked woman, and only about the size of her pinky finger.

"The book is a copy, as I've still got the loose sheets from when I've written them down," He explained, "Somewhere... oh, and the mother icon will be able to identify you as a Priest of Atom, if anyone should ever question your standing with us."

She nodded, "I'll do my very best, and I'll study as much as I can, so that I can help anyone who believes in Atom when they need it."

Confessor Cromwell smiled, "That is all that I can really ask for, from a Priest of All Faiths. It's almost lunch time, I think."

They said goodbye, the Confessor needed to go back to preaching his sermons down in the center of town, and Mother Maya came and thanked her again for repairing her book. Ella left to meet up with Cassidy at their house to eat, explaining everything as well as she could with her mouth full of noodles.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that restoring/repairing books (including re-inking the pages and things like that) would take MUCH longer than they do here. I couldn't find an exact estimate for how long something like that would take, let alone decide how much longer it would take because of post-apocalyptic conditions. So I just sort of guess-timated.


	6. A New Tradecraft

_Ella Rhodes_

_-September 13th, 2277-_

 

Cassidy's arm had healed right as she predicted it to, but needed an extra day to stretch it as it had grown stiff over the week that she'd been healing. After that, they'd just gotten so busy with the restoring the other two books and getting countless amounts of requests that they had to sort through. It didn't stop their plans to clear out the school though, only really delayed them.

Ella checked her pip boy, it was early, the light had just started to come in through the small holes in the walls, pin pricks of sunlight dotting their house, and most of Megaton was still fast asleep.

They were leaving as early as possible so they could have as much of the day for this task, and didn't know how many raiders they'd have to face, so she had to have more rest than she'd been getting for the past week. They had no problem with caps now, since she had finished all of the requested books and had begun on the ones that Moira had given her, but that didn't mean that they were exactly well off. There was still a limited supply of food within the walls of Megaton, and the school was a good opportunity to take some of the pressure off and to rid the raiders who had been ambushing some of the caravans on their way through Springvale to Megaton. With a much more steady supply of traders, they'd have a wider selection of goods to buy, and so would the rest of the town.

Dogmeat followed them happily out of the gates of Megaton and down into the town below. She and Cassidy scouted out the front of the school for close to half an hour, finding little movement coming from both inside and out. It was still early enough that those who felt safe may slack a little bit, so they had the advantage.

As silently as they could they approached the building and opened the door, the hinges groaned a little from age, but thankfully drew no attention. While crouched they moved to their left, Cassidy peered through a doorway on that side.

She leaned over and whispered, "Take the spot behind that desk," Cassidy pointed to the piece of furniture mentioned that had been flipped onto it's side, "I'll lock this door up, and throw mines down at the end of the hallway, then lure them over here."

"What about Dogmeat?" She asked as she scrambled over to hide behind the desk, unshouldering her rifle and resting the barrel against the desk.

"Go Dogmeat," Cassidy shooed, "Go with Ella and stay there."

Dogmeat turned his head, but did as was indicated to him, and joined her behind the desk. Ella watched as Cassidy slowly made her way down the hallway, laying two mines at the end, then one further down towards themselves between them. She made her way back and closed the door they had come though, sticking a tire iron between the handles so that it would be locked from their side, and then joined her behind the desk.

"So, how do you want to get their attention?"

Cassidy was already in the process of picking up a chunk of rubble, roughly three times the size of her hand, and threw it as hard as she could to the end of the hallway. It sailed over the mines and clattered near a corner. They took cover as they heard the raiders getting riled up and coming to investigate the disturbance. A few of them had stopped at the end of the hallway, inspecting the piece of rubble, so Cassidy ducked out from their cover and shot once wildly down the hallway with her .32.

The raiders, predictably, drew their weapons and ran forward when Cassidy disappeared again. One of the mines were set off, which in a cascading wave, set off the other mines. Only one of the raiders at the end of the hallway was still alive, groaning in agony, and they could hear more raiders were coming as reinforcements as the sound of the mines echoed through the building until everyone was alerted.

Ella peeked over their cover, and waited for the dust to settle before she set the barrel of her rifle against the desk, and shooting down the hallway whenever she saw a raider arrive. Cassidy as well was filling everything that moved with bullets from her pistol. It was maybe fifteen minutes before the shots ceased, and they let Dogmeat loose to finish off any who were downed but still alive.

They pressed on to search the entire building. There was hardly any food, but they did get five more Nuka Colas and seven beers, which they were thankful that now they could drink beer without it being the shit that Moriarty tried to pass off. There were packs of cigarettes too, which they took, they would sell for a good amount, and quite a few medical supplies, effectively doubling the amount of Rad-X, Rad Away, and Stimpaks they had already. There was a large number of weapons, which Cassidy was absolutely giddy about, and pulled them all into a pile by the front door so that they wouldn't have to lug them throughout the building.

They also found an old reformatted terminal, which she read through the entries on it while Cassidy flipped through a Duck and Cover! Magazine that had been in one of the desks' drawers.

"Anything useful?"

"Huh..." She mumbled as she turned off the terminal, "It seems that these guys were digging a tunnel to try to get into the Vault."

"Wait... like, _our_ Vault?"

She nodded, "Yeah. But they were stopped when they ran into giant ants, and locked the door behind them."

"Pft... well good. I don't want to deal with that shit."

"What should we do about it though? What if a new group comes by to try to get into the Vault?"

"We just leave it, for now," Cassidy said, "Or we should. I mean it's locked up, and has giant ants guarding it. We can come back and clear more raiders out if we need to."

"I guess so." She hummed.

They went through the rest of the building, finding a few more raiders here and there (Who were either caught unaware, in one case they were too, or so high they were babbling nonsense.) and a vicious guard dog.

But most of all, they found a library, and it still had a _lot_ of books. She checked her Pipboy, it was still before noon.

"Should we try to go through them all?" She asked Cassidy. There was a chance that there'd be at least a few books in the library that were salvageable, and they'd been making their money off of her doing repair work on books.

She shrugged, "We got the whole rest of the day."

"Maybe you can take the other supplies back to Megaton, and I'll start sorting through all this?"

"What? No." Cassidy replied, "I can't let you get hurt again."

Ella really hadn't thought about it, not since they were scavenging and within such easy distance of Megaton. She hadn't expected Cassidy to still be upset over her, even if she was more than technically blind in her left eye.

"Well, maybe Dogmeat could stay here with me?" Ella suggested, "It's really not like you're going to be that far away, and it's all about how much we can take back. With all of this stuff I wasn't sure that we'd even be able to take it all in one trip."

"It's not really worth it." Cassidy stood her ground.

Ella huffed, she was getting nowhere and didn't really feel up to arguing the afternoon away that could be used sorting through everything. "Fine. But maybe at least gather all of our things up by the front door?"

" _Fine._ " Cassidy huffed and left her to the library.

Ella went through the books as quickly as possible – unsaveable books in one pile and the ones she could restore in the other. There were a mountain of books in the unsaveable pile, but at least the ones that were a little okay were making their own little hill. As she went through, she noted every time Cassidy came and went through the library, picking through raider pockets and desks and carrying a few books at a time to the front for her.

She got to the final book, and threw it in the large pile in the corner, and was very pleased with herself. It didn't take that long! She checked her Pipboy and her heart sunk. It was already past five o'clock. Ella sighed and made her way to the front of the building, where Cassidy was trying to use a broom to poke at something above a cage filled with skeletal remains. She had done everything she could to ignore how small they were when she'd seen them as they had arrived, steeling herself against thoughts of how they must've died. She wasn't too successful, but as long as she didn't look at them, it wasn't as bad.

"What are you doing?" She asked, walking around to try to spot whatever it was that Cassidy was doing.

"There's a Quantum up there." Cassidy grunted, swinging her broom handle around.

"And you want to knock it down?!" Ella exclaimed.

"Well, since you put it that way," Cassidy huffed and poked the Quantum, Ella had just seconds to extend her hand and catch the glowing blue bottle of cola before it hit the ground, and almost failed to catch it, "See? It turned out all right."

She frowned at her, "Why would you do that? You could have broken it!"

"Not with you catching it," She pointed to the ground next to Ella, "And I pulled a mattress from the bathroom over here. I'm not stupid."

Ella sighed with relief, "You could have lead with that."

"I thought you would've noticed it." She motioned down at it again with her broom, then tossed the relic away, "We should head out, you got everything you wanted from the library?"

"Went through every book, we're not going to have to come here again aside from ridding it of more raiders."

"Yeah, sure." Cassidy replied, "I wouldn't want anyone to dig their way through into the Vault. Is that possible?"

"Yes." She replied with a sigh, "The molerats and the radroach infestations come from somewhere. The walls are weaker in between the supports, the main defense is the door, and I'm guessing that when they built it they didn't think anybody would be trying to tunnel under it."

Cassidy hummed, "All right. We'll have to keep a close eye on it then, huh?"

She nodded in turn, "I don't want anyone in there to die."

"I know." Cassidy stood, "Let's get all this shit back to Megaton. It's going to be a long walk."

She packed their backpacks as smart as she could, trying to even the burden between them. They were still terribly heavy, but they made their way out of the school and back through Springvale and up to Megaton. The last traces of day had disappeared by the time they'd gotten back to their home, and exhaustedly hauled themselves up the stairs and into their respective beds. Sorting through all of their loot and selling and trading it could be saved for tomorrow.

 

 

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-September 14th, 2277-_

 

It wasn't hard to sort everything out, she'd taken most of the work voluntarily as Ella had taken the books upstairs to begin her prep work on them. It would keep Ella busy for the next week or so, which didn't leave a whole lot for her to do. Servicing their guns took a good amount of time, but nowhere near the amount of time restoring the old books would for her housemate.

Food – what little there was – was put in the fridge, which also only contained a little bit. Their new medicine, which doubled their stimpaks, med-x, rad-x, and rad aways, were put on the shelves with their others in the kitchen. The magazine she'd gotten went upstairs in her room, the Quantum into the bottom of the locker, and the weapons were sorted into the ones that she would use for parts, and the ones she would sell to Moira.

She let Ella know when she was leaving, and pulled the bag onto her shoulder. It wasn't as much as when they'd come back from Minefield, and certainly not as much as she wished, but it was at least something. Not that they were in want of caps now that Ella had finished the four books that had been requested, and with the ones she would be doing over the next week, they'd never want for anything.

Cassidy swung open the door to Moira's shop, hauling the backpack in and unloading all of the items onto the counter. Moira went through and tallied up how much caps everything was worth, easily giving her a number while Cassidy looked through the supplies up for sale. She was excited to hear that the caravans wouldn't be having any trouble with the raiders in Springvale, but then said something that immediately caught Cassidy's attention.

"You must be hoarding all of their boots back at your house, huh?" She asked, cheerful as can be.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Boots," Moira repeated, "Not easy to come by a good pair of 'em. Raiders usually have the best ones, or at least the best ones they can steal off'a others."

"Good boots are that rare?"

Moira nodded, "Yeah. So're jackets and hats and helmets and gloves too. Especially if they've been recently fixed up."

Cassidy thought it over for awhile, "You wouldn't happen to have a sewing kit here for sale, would you?"

"Oh well yeah. I can't remember where I put it though, give me a couple of hours."

She paid Moira and left quickly, nearly sprinting back to her and Ella's house and bursting through the door. She quickly donned her leather armor and stuffed her guns in her belt, only hopping upstairs quickly to tell Ella that she was heading back out to the school.

"What for?" She asked after her.

"Boots!" She shouted back as she rushed through the door and took off through town, not leaving Ella any time to get ready and follow her outside the walls.

The smell was worse than she had remembered it being yesterday, but she ran through quickly and ripped off every single pair of boots in the entire school. Eleven pairs of boots, ten leather gloves, six leather jackets (She took leather armor too, but not the undershirts or pants that smelled of old sweat and death), five helmets, and three hats. She gathered them all up and stuffed them into her bag. She was going to have to do something about the smell and thought about it for a bit, pacing by the door to think.

Cassidy remembered the supply closet that she'd gotten a few of their stimpaks from while they were rummaging through the school, and sprinted back there to grab a bucket, a box of abraxo cleaner, and a hairbrush she had to fish out from under a shelf. She stuck the items into the bucket and carried it and her backpack back to Megaton quickly. She dumped the items back at the house and stripped her armor off and her weapons before heading back to Moira. She hadn't even started looking for the sewing kit, but found it because it was sitting right on top of a table where she hadn't noticed it was before. She paid for the sewing kit and another couple of boxes of abraxo and headed back to the house, where Ella was looking through her backpack curiously.

"What are you going to do with all this?" She asked as Cassidy set everything up by the couch. She went to the fridge and gathered all of the dirty water that they probably weren't going to drink and dumped it all in the bucket, which was thankfully free of holes, at least on and near the bottom of it.

"Moira said that fixed up boots and stuff goes for a lot too. I thought maybe I could do that and make some better armor for us, as well as better weapons."

"But... do you even know how to fix up armor and boots?"

"Nope!" She said cheerfully, dumping half a box of abraxo into the bucket of water and mixing it with the hairbrush, letting it get soaked through, "I can learn though. And I don't exactly see anyone around town who fixes clothes and armor and boots and hats and stuff like that."

"Yes, but..." Ella frowned and thought, "I don't know. I just... didn't think you'd want to do something like this?"

"Well I'm good at cooking, but Jenny downstairs already does that. I can fix up weapons, but everyone always goes to Moira or Simms for that sort of work. Being Sheriff doesn't exactly pay very well by itself, you know? So Moira mentioned that we must be hoarding raider boots at our house and when I asked her what she meant, she said that boots and gloves and hats and coats and things like that are kind of rare. At least in good quality." She replied to Ella in as little breaths as possible, seeing that Ella could barely keep up with her line of reasoning.

"All right, well I guess if you want to. Just, it smells so bad."

"I know, which is why I've got the Abraxo."

Ella gave her one last look before heading back up to her books. Cassidy was determined to learn leatherworking, and to be the best leatherworker in the Capital Wasteland.

 

 

_Ella Rhodes_

_-September 19th, 2277-_

 

Ella had finished only two of the shorter books she'd recovered from the library. Her eyes were beginning to strain and were terribly dry as well, so she decided to check on Cassidy's progress. She saw a little bit here and there whenever they had their meals, but she wondered just how well Cassidy was doing with her new task.

They had more scraps of leather now than they had items of clothing, in a little pile by the couch. Dogmeat was lazily sleeping on the rug while Cassidy continued at her work.

"How's all of that going?"

"Good," Cassidy said distractedly, "Finally finished a pair of boots this morning, thought I'd give gloves a try now."

She gestured over to the boots at the end of the couch. The stitching was visible where she'd made repairs, but the otherwise they were the nicest and cleanest looking boots she'd ever seen outside of the Vault. The only shoes that could compare were those high heels that had been locked away with the pre-war dresses they'd found, and those were only so well preserved because they hadn't been through the hundred years of wear and tear.

"What're you doing down here?" Cassidy asked, going from one finger of the glove before her to the next.

"Eye strain. I need to do something else for awhile. I thought maybe we could go out and explore a little bit more."

"If you wanna." Cassidy shrugged, tossing the glove down onto the living room table and gathering up her gear. Dogmeat took notice and began to wag his tail happily as he watched the two don their armor and filled their backpacks with extra ammo and some food for lunch. Their loyal dog jumped up when they geared up and opened the door.

Ella gave it a thought, and grabbed her BB Gun, catching up to Cassidy and Dogmeat quickly. Simms gave them a wave as they headed out the gates of Megaton, and they circled around and began to travel South. It only took a few minutes to get to the south side of Megaton, and only a few more to climb to the top of an outcropping of rocks. They sat down next to each other, while Dogmeat milled around below them, sniffing and marking his territory as he saw fit.

"I thought you wanted to go do something," Cassidy hummed.

She shrugged, "It's nice to be outside."

Cassidy looked at her, disbelieving, "We're kind of out in the open here."

"Simms said there's only molerats around the perimeter to worry about."

"Even more reason to go back to the house,"

Ella sighed, "I just... It's... difficult to explain. Most of the work that I know how to do is indoors and hunched over a desk and with minimal lighting. It wears on you."

Cassidy turned, humming slightly, but not responding.

"That, and I don't think we'll get out much when the rain and snowstorms start up. I can just hope that Dad's safe wherever he is."

Cassidy turned back to her, "I've been thinking... I'm going to go into downtown before winter shows up."

"What? Why? I thought after you injured your arm that you were going to wait, and if it rains while you're traveling, you'll have no visibility at all," She couldn't believe that Cassidy had just said that, they had planned that she wouldn't go until it was truly safe to travel.

"If it rains, then neither will the raiders. And it's been dry all month, and there's not a cloud to be seen," She gestured around them. It was as clear as clear could be.

"I don't know..."

Cassidy shrugged, "If we see any dark clouds or anything on the horizon, like Simms said to look out for, then I'll just not go. But I'm going for speed, so it's not like it should be a problem. I'll get in, get the information, then get out."

Ella sighed, "All right," she muttered, turning her attention to the empty wasteland that spread before them. Things around them were few and far between, there were no close-by areas to scavenge, and what was close-by they'd already been through. Springvale, it's school, and the Super Duper Mart. Everything else would need to take careful planning and knowing where they could bunk up for a night.

If they were planning on making a living by scavenging, then they may have to move around a bit. But was that worth it? With her fixing up books and Cassidy now able to repair guns and armor, did they really need the money from raiding pre-war grocery stores and raider camps? The two of them could set up there in Megaton no problem.

But did she want that? To just settle on the first place they rolled into? To be just a stones' throw away from what she had called her home for years, of which she was now an outcast? Where would she go, what would she do?

She'd never had to think about that before. In the Vault, you did the job that you were assigned, and it was for life. No one ever entered, no one ever left. But that wasn't true anymore. Maybe it had never been true, if what Moriarty had said to her was right.

She had been lost in these thoughts when Cassidy bumped shoulders with her, snapping her out of it. Cassidy handed off a nuka-cola and a box of BlamCo Mac and Cheese off to her, then pulled some out for herself. Dogmeat came and laid at their feet, panting from chasing something.

Ella ate the macaroni that was somehow stale and soggy at the same time, and wondered just what she was going to do about her life.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally added a 'masterpost' that has the characters and what they look like on my Blogger [Here](http://extra-dimensional-reconnaissance.blogspot.com/2017/05/all-roads-lead-somewhere-master-post.html).


	7. Out of the Fire and into Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy ventures into Downtown DC, meets the brotherhood, gains a ghoul companion, and completes a radio dish quest.

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-September 21st, 2277-_

 

There was no light in the clear sky when she shouldered her pack at the door, it was still a couple hours before the sun would rise. It was nearly weightless, taking only the basics with her. She only took a couple of Stimpaks, a bottle of Med-X, a meal, a large portion of their money (Just in case she had to buy the information) and her weapons. She had outfitted the partial power armor they'd found in the junkyard to spread weight more evenly, so that she could bring more back with her if she were to find anything that was worth saving.

Ella stood silently at the foot of the stairs, still in a pair of pajamas that Cassidy herself had altered from one of the dresses. It was just a little pink top, nothing different from the actual dress except that the buttons for the straps had been removed and the pieces sewn together, and a pair of matching loose shorts, which she'd had to take apart three times before she got the line right. Dogmeat was happily wagging his tail nearby, thinking that he was going to go out for a walk.

Surprisingly, Ella gave her a hug before she left. There were no words at their parting, and Cassidy slipped out into the night as quickly as she could. Getting from Megaton to the bridge by the Super Duper Mart was easy, she could have done it blindfolded, which helped in the complete darkness.

From there she fumbled around a little, knowing just the general direction that the subway station was, and creeping around to avoid raiders that were on night watch. It was still dark when she descended into the tunnels.

Her breath hitched when she heard familiar skittering sounds. She didn't bother turning on the light of her Pip-Boy, she didn't want to take it out from her backpack. So instead, she stood at the mouth of the subway and waited for her vision to adjust.

She stepped down quietly into the main area, it was cluttered with debris and the smell of molerat and rotting flesh. Cassidy took in a big gush of air, and as quickly and as quietly as she could, made her way through the tunnels, picking up odds and ends when she could.

 

Cassidy had to fight, at some point, but it had all gone rather well, but she was able to resurface without much problem. She sat by the gates and consulted her Pip-Boy, it was now nearly eight o'clock, and the sun had already come out. The sky was dotted by a few clouds as she tried to map and estimate the quickest way to get to GNR.

In the distance, she heard some gunfire, and stealthily made her way through the streets, hugging what walls she could, until she got to the standoff. On one side was a whole group of humans, each one geared with a full set of power armor. The other side, were huge monsterous lime green monsters, twisted mutations of the human form. She brought out her own gun, and began to help, because she knew that helping other humans was more likely to win her favor and maybe they wouldn't attack her as well, even if they were raiders.

Once the gunfight ceased, she rounded the corner and made her way to the group of what appeared to be walking suits of armor. They looked just like the pre-war depictions of heavy gunners, soldiers defending their country from the communist enemies.

The men looked over her, for what reason, either skeptically or just to take in her tight fitting clothes and leather armor, she ignored. She heard one of them whisper that she was a civilian as she passed.

Their leader was also fitted with power armor, so it took Cassidy by surprise when she had come up to them and it was a woman, just as tall and bulky as the men.

"I don't know who you are, but you don't belong here," She began, "There's Super Mutants everywhere here, we're doing all we can to keep the GNR building clear of hostiles without having to worry about a civilian in the line of fire."

Cassidy opened her mouth to quip back at her, then closed her mouth, thinking about what Ella would say and settling on sarcastic being the wrong option for this particular scenario. She then went with the obvious.

"Who are you guys?"

"I'm Sentinel Lyons, of the Lyons Pride. Brotherhood of Steel," She was about to go on, but gunfire could be heard echoing among the ruins of downtown, "If you're going to tag along, keep your head down and stay out of sight."

Cassidy shrugged and followed the members of the Brotherhood of Steel through the maze of dilapidated buildings, killing more of what they called Super Mutants.

They cleared out what looked like a bombed out school full of them, and came to the courtyard of the GNR station, where more of the Brotherhood of Steel were waiting for their backup. They cleared away the last of the Super Mutants, there was hardly any time to draw breath throughout the multiple fights. She had just about breathed a sigh of relief when a loud crashing caught her attention.

It caught the attention of every member of the Brotherhood in that courtyard. Turning she was just in time to witness a huge hulking form crash through the rubble, apparently drawn by the sound of the gunfire.

She could hear someone scream 'Behemoth' somewhere, but it sounded far away as the soldiers around her began to fire upon the thing. Nothing seemed to affect it, and Cassidy ran and ducked behind a pillar, watching the fight unfold before her.

One man dead, then two, then three. She took shots from the distance, but much like the rest of them, it wasn't really doing much. Something in the middle of the courtyard caught her eye, it looked like a gun, but it was much bigger. She holstered her own and dashed forward, arriving at the large weapon. It was already loaded, so she shouldered the large weapon, aimed, and fired.

The behemoth hadn't been facing her, so the projectile hit right at the base of his neck, in between it's shoulder blades. It turned, almost lethargically, waving his giant maul around as most of his back had been wiped away. Blood poured from the wound, and in some places she could see bone, and in others she was able to look right through the behemoth. Muscle seemed to melt, dripping from the wound with his blood, and soon it laid dead on the ground. The soldiers all around her gave a victory cheer. Sentinel Lyons came and helped her up, and far from her conscious mind she felt someone pull the weapon from her hands.

"That was some good work," Sentinel Lyons said, "And you didn't die."

"Well, I figure now I must be lucky," She laughed, still gasping to get her breath back from all of the adrenaline. Sentinel Lyons helped her over to the GNR building and they sat together on the steps until her heartbeat returned to normal and her hands stopped shaking.

Sentinel Lyons had been about to say something, but as usual, something much more interesting had caught her attention.

"Whoa, what the fuck is that?" Cassidy pointed down at the dead Brotherhood member in his power armor. Sentinel Lyons arched an eyebrow at her, as if to say, 'Are you for fucking real?'

"I don't mean the dead guy, smart ass." Cassidy laughed, "That big ol' thing on his back."

"It's a jet pack for power armor."

"Cool... so... can I have it?"

The Sentinel looked over the jet pack, "It's in pretty bad condition, so I suppose so, but not the power armor." Sarah smirked to herself, the jet pack would be worthless without the armor, so there wouldn't be any reason for the woman to take -

"Alright." Cassidy beamed as she bent over and detached the jet pack easily. Far more easily than Sentinel Lyons would have thought she would have, "I'm gunna leave this with my stuff out here while I go talk to Three Dog, you won't take any of it, right?"

Sarah could do nothing but stare, "No."

"Alright. See ya." Cassidy left her bags and the jet pack by the door and strode inside confidently. She saluted the Paladins guarding the foyer of the building, and hopped up the steps in twos, finding Three Dog's station quickly.

"The look on your face says it all. You're wondering who the heck this guy is and why you should care-"

Cassidy laughed, "You're Three Dog."

"I... yeah..."

"Oh... sorry. Did you have a big speech prepared for me?"

He frowned at her, it was obvious that he had but continued anyways, "Well... I know who you are. Heard about you leavin' that Vault, travelin' the unknown. Just like dear old Dad, hmm?"

"Wrong Vaultie." Cassidy flashed her teeth in a grin, "But I would like to know where Dr. Rhodes went to."

"What... there's more of you?"

" _Yeah_. Two of us." She shrugged, "I'm a little surprised you haven't heard _that_. James' daughter Ella's back at Megaton, healing and resting. I'm here on her behalf."

Three Dog snorted, "Well, isn't that just the picture of human compassion? A rare find these days."

"Yeah yeah. Get to the part where you tell me where James is."

"Look... I have information, and you have survival and technical know-how. Maybe we can help each other out."

Cassidy sighed and rolled her eyes, "Alright, where do you want me to go and what do you want me to do?"

"Straight to the point then?" He smiled, "Some brainless Super Mutant thought it would be funny to shoot at the shiny round thing on the Washington Monument. It was the broadcast relay for Galaxy News Radio, which allowed the station to be heard outside of downtown DC. It needs a replacement, and there's only one replacement for it. It's the dish off of the old Virgo II Lunar Lander in the Museum of Technology."

"All right..." Cassidy sighed, "Get the dish, stick it where the old one was. Got it."

Three Dog smiled, "You're going to be the best thing that happened to Galaxy News Radio in awhile."

She nodded and hopped back downstairs. Sentinel Lyons was still where she had been earlier, but now there were more Brotherhood members staring in her direction. Cassidy began to rearrange her bags so that they were inside the cage, it would be better to have cushion in case it didn't work out in her favor. Sentinel Lyons' jaw dropped when she saw that under all those packs that Cassidy had been carrying around was part of a power armor frame.

She hooked the jet pack onto it and secured it, and heaved it up onto her shoulders and strapped it tightly. She brought her goggles down over her eyes, then turned to Sentinel Lyons.

"Which way is the Museum of Technology?"

The Sentinel pointed south, and Cassidy gave her a toothy grin and a salute, and then was off. In only a few seconds she was above the buildings of DC, seeing it from above she could see all the damage and all the blocked areas below her.

She smiled to herself. This was probably the best thing she'd experienced in her entire life. Right up until the jet pack began to sputter. Cassidy didn't drop out of the air immediately, but still fell and after hitting a roof and a tumble, landed on her stomach with enough weight on top to feel like a brahmin had just mounted her.

"Ugh. That sucked." She grumbled as she heard footsteps approach her. She rolled over and undid her restraints, freeing herself from the heavy baggage, and leaned against it, very sore from the landing. Cassidy looked up to see who had approached her, a ghoul woman with bits of bright red hair and wide eyes, behind her was a museum.

"Is this the Museum of Technology?"

The ghoul shook her head, "No, it's the Museum of History."

Cassidy groaned.

"The Museum of Technology is across from here."

"Oh good."

"You'll have to go through the Super Mutants."

" _Oh good_." She moaned out, letting her head fall back and rest on the bags.

She and the ghoul looked up when the door to the Museum of History opened and another ghoul poked his head out.

"Willow? What's going on?" He shouted.

"Nothin'," Willow shouted back, pointing with the butt of her gun down at Cassidy, "Just a bird fallin' from the sky."

The ghoul came further out tentatively, getting a good look at her. "So... What happened?"

"Jet pack." Cassidy smiled and stuck her thumb behind her, "Much quicker than going through the train system. Even if it crapped out at the last second. My ass is going to feel _that_ for a week. You all got anything strong to drink?"

"Uh... The Ninth Circle..." The male ghoul said.

"Okay, where's that?"

The ghoul pointed behind him, "Straight through the lobby and into the Underworld. It's up the stairs and on the left."

She nodded resolutely and stood, "Thanks," then she turned, and with quite a bit of effort, lifted the burden and began to half-drag it inside. She was never so regretful that Ella wasn't here to split the load as she was now.

"But... uh... Ahzrukhal is... the guy who owns it... he's..." The ghoul stuttered as she heaved past him.

"An asshole." Willow helpfully supplied.

"Oh... I've dealt with my share of assholes. I just need a drink." She nodded to each of them, "Nice meeting you." And then she was off into the bowels of the Museum of History. She hauled the gear she was carrying into the Underworld, absolutely loving the giant skull over the entrance. Maybe, if she buttered Ella up a little, she could put a skull of some big irradiated monster above their door in Megaton. That would look awesome, especially if she found a big one. It would look pretty cool, she thought.

The stairs were the worst, but she finally made her way to the Ninth Circle and plopped her bags by an empty table and went up to the _lovely_ barman who was, all at once, sneering at her, and sizing her up like he was about to bid on her ass.

"What'll it be?"

"Beer." She said simply, sliding caps towards him. He turned and she waited, and was rewarded for her patience with a brown bottle in front of her. She used her shoulder pads to pop off the cap, caught it mid air, and then took a deep swallow of it.

"Damn." She laughed, examining the bottle, "Real fuckin' beer."

The barman Ahzrukhal frowned, "What else would it be?"

She took another drink, "Back in Megaton the only guy who brews is Moriarty, and that fucker pisses in the still 'cause he thinks it's funny." Another drink, "Then he's fuckin' surprised no one buys his piss beer."

The old ghoul's face changed immediately into a wide smile and gave a chuckle, "Hah! Thought I'd never hear a smoothskin say they'd prefer my drinks to another smoothskins'! I like you kid."

"Well then, I probably won't like you."

He frowned, all the noise was sucked out of the room, "And why's that?" He growled.

"'Cause only assholes _like_ me."

After a second of silence Ahzrukhal hit the bar top with his palm and laughed until he was doubled over and wiping tears from his eyes.

She finished off her beer, and slid more caps to him, "Another one."

"Yeah, yeah," He turned, but stopped and narrowed his eyes across the room, "Hey! You fucking knock that off!"

Cassidy turned to see who he was pointing at, but couldn't see what the ghoul had been doing wrong when Ahzrukhal snapped his fingers and barked, "Charon, kick his ass out!"

The unbelievably tall ghoul came from his spot at the wall, the other smaller ghoul was halfway to escaping when Charon had grabbed him by the collar and forcefully dragged him to the door.

"Who's that guy?" She jerked her thumb over her shoulder.

"Ah, Millburn's a fuckin' idiot is what he is."

"No, I meant that Charon guy." The tall ghoul went back to his spot, and took up his old position like he'd never left it.

"My _employee_." Ahzrukhal chuckled, "I won his contract off of some bum from Junction City in a game of cards. He does whatever the holder of the contract says, no matter what. He was brain-washed... or somethin'."

"Huh... Wish I could get a contract like that..." Cassidy took a swig, and thought for a moment, "You wouldn't happen to be interested in sellin' the contract would you?"

Ahzrukhal chuckled, "For the right price, I'd sell the bones of my grandmother to witch doctors."

"How about..." She counted in her head how much she had on her, somewhere in the high one thousands, "A thousand caps."

"Two."

"One and two hundred."

He grumbled a little, "One and eight."

"C'mon..." She crossed her arms, "One and five."

They stared each other down for a moment, she knew she wouldn't be the first one to break. She wouldn't even be the first one to blink. She just calmly stared at him, and tried not to think of her aching chest and stomach from her fall from the sky.

He looked down first, "Fine."

Cassidy smirked as she grabbed her cap purse, counting them out as quickly as she could and placing them into piles of hundreds. Ahzrukhal waved him over, but didn't speak to Charon as he approached. She counted out the last of the caps, and he handed over Charon's contract to her, and then began to gather up the caps on his counter top.

"I am no longer in your service." Charon said simply, looking a little bit confused and surprised, but only slightly.

"Yes." Ahzrukhal nodded, Cassidy took another swig of her beer. She didn't even see the shotgun until she heard it go off twice, the bottle of beer still on her lips. Her ears were ringing as she looked up in horror at Charon, calm as if he was still standing against the wall, with his shotgun in his hands. The other patrons of the bar had all stood in shock, silence reigned in the Ninth Circle.

"Uh...." She reached up and touched her face, it was wet and her hand came away with blood on it, "Do... you... always kill your old employer?"

Charon had already put his shotgun away, "Ahzrukhal was an evil bastard."

"Okay..." She gulped, "Not doing whatever he did... then..."

Cassidy looked down at the caps still on the bar. There were a few on the ground beside Ahzrukhal, maybe a hundred or so. She took the ones still left on the bartop and stuffed them back in her cap purse. She leaned over the bar and grabbed a couple of beers and stuffed them in one of her packs and looked around.

"Well? Drinks on this guy!" She pointed down to Ahzrukhal, dead as a doornail.

She leaned over and grabbed a bottle of vodka too. The ghouls of the bar shuffled back and forth, not really knowing what to do. She wasn't going to hold their hands and tell them it was all right again. He was _dead_. It wasn't like he was going to bite them, or sick Charon on them.

The - _still unbelievably tall_ \- ghoul waited for her patiently, awaiting her first order. She just hefted her stuff up, wiped a good portion of the blood from her face before giving up, and left the Ninth Circle as quickly as she could. The ghouls of the Museum of History had already started to gather around, wondering what had happened within, but when they saw Charon they parted quicker than they had gathered. Nobody spoke to them on their way out, except for Willow when they'd finally made it to the edge of the Museum's influence.

"Y'sure you want Charon with you? I was under the impression you were working for the Brotherhood of Steel." Cassidy could assume by Willows' tone of voice what the Brotherhoods' position on ghouls was, and had to quickly rethink her plan of going back to the radio station with Charon in tow.

"With. _Slightly_." She shrugged, "More of a thing that I'm working with Three-Dog, temporarily, who's working with the Brotherhood."

If any of that bothered Charon, he didn't show it.

"So... Where's the Museum of Technology?"

Willow pointed across the mall, and Cassidy could see at least five Super Mutants between them, and possibly more lying low in the bunkers.

"Didn't think you'd need a bodyguard though," Willow sighed as Cassidy strapped herself into the power armor frame, "You look like you can handle yourself."

"Oh. I didn't buy his contract for me. I bought his contract to give to someone else." She smiled to the ghoul sentinel, but when she turned back to Charon, he _was_ surprised that time, though he masked it quickly. "Whelp. Off we go then. Nice meeting you, Willow."

She waved and took about ten steps forward to the nearest half wall, unshouldered her sniper rifle, and began to unload into the Super Mutants. She downed three of them before they knew where she was at, but any who came close met the lead of Charon's shotgun. He was incredibly efficient, and Cassidy knew she'd made the right choice in buying his contract.

She stepped through the field of Super Mutants quickly, they all smelled terribly and she wasn't about to rifle through their things for a handful of caps. She did grab a gun or two on her way past some of them, even though they were already in bad condition she could always scrap them for parts for other guns. If nothing else she could hawk them to Moira to put aside to sell to Moriarty. Indirectly fucking with people was sometimes the funniest, and maybe he'd have a gun backfire on him and kill his stupid ass.

Charon followed, and it was just about noon when they were in front of the Museum of Technology. If she was lucky, it would be empty, if she was unlucky, there'd be more super mutants. Or even _more_ unlucky, there'd be mole rats.

They entered carefully, and were greeted with a hail of bullets from a pack of super mutants. Thankfully, no mole rats.

Charon took point and killed all but the two that she'd already taken care of herself. The museum itself was a maze of crumbled hallways and ruined pathways, it took forever to find a safe route to the Virgo II Lunar Lander, going through and noticing nothing except to kill Super Mutants on their way there. She pried it off of the old lander's dish as gently as she could, while Charon rapidly took on more super mutants to cover her.

Once she was sure that there were no more super mutants left in the building, she sat with Charon outside on the steps of the museum. She unshouldered her packs and began to rifle through them, splitting it so that she could leave a bulk of her belongings here and take only what she needed.

"I need you to stay here Charon."

He frowned.

"I'm going to go put this dish up on the monument, and it's controlled by the Brotherhood, so ghouls aren't exactly welcomed by them," If that wasn't true, because she had only guessed, he didn't say anything to correct her, "While I'm gone I'd like you to go through the museum and gather stuff that we may need. Food, caps, water, scrap metal, books, anything else that might look expensive or useful."

"Books?"

She nodded, "I'll be back tomorrow. If I'm not, you can hunt down my body and get your contract back and give it to whoever you want, or however the fuck that contract works, I don't really care. I'll be heading toward the GNN building."

He nodded, "I will do as you command."

She shouldered her bag and gave him a thumbs up and a smile, "I'll see'ya later then."

 

 

 

_Charon_

_-September 21st, 2277-_

 

The girl left the museum, and Charon was at an utter loss as to what to do. There was her command, to gather materials and supplies, but there couldn't be as much in the building that would amount to him spending an entire day doing. He started quickly, and mechanically went about his order. It went as fast as he had predicted, he had gathered all that his new Employer had asked for before the sun had even set. He sorted everything he had gathered, and then took apart and serviced his shotgun. When he had finished putting it back together, the sun was still hanging low in the sky.

There was nothing else to do but sit and wait for her to return, as she'd given him no other commands - - _but_ , she also hadn't commanded him not to do anything _else_.

He weighed the pros and cons of searching through the pack she'd left behind for a scrap of food to eat. Maybe if it was small enough, or if there was plenty of one thing, he could eat something and she'd never know. Maybe a single chip from a can or a couple crumbs from the bottom of a box of Dandy Boy Apples. Hunger didn't affect him as much as it normally would've, either through his military training or because of the ghoulification, he didn't know, but he hadn't eaten in quite a long while now.

But - - if she _did_ find out, which there was a high possibility that it would be an eventuality, then she would be within the boundaries of the contract to punish him in whichever way she saw fit. It would do him no good to get on the contract holders' bad side immediately after she'd received it. So far, she was a pretty lax contract holder. He'd only known her for a few hours, but her reaction to his killing Ahzrukhal told him that she was unused to the commonality of death. She must've been from some small settlement, hidden away somewhere. There were a few, he knew, spread throughout what used to be the U.S.

He'd be fine, he told himself. It wasn't the first time he'd gone without a meal in almost a month, (Or was it two months? He didn't remember.) and it certainly wasn't going to be his last. He sat resolutely by the door, wondering just how long he'd have to wait before his new Employer would return.

The silence that permeated around him left him with time to think, which he didn't get a lot of opportunities to do, or have much to think about very often. Or have things that he'd _want_ to think about. But this time his brain was a-buzz with thoughts, wondering just why this woman had bought his contract in the first place. To give it to someone else?

Maybe one of Ahzrukhal's poker buddies who was angry with him, using the girl as a medium to not tip him off, and wanted to buy his contract so he'd kill Ahzrukhal. Wouldn't they be in for a surprise when they had his contract in hand and their foe already dead? Maybe some raider gang who had heard about his fighting ability from rumors? Ahzrukhal was never one to not boast about everything and anything that he could have stamped his name on. Maybe Tenpenny wanted someone to get rid of his 'ghoul problem', and what better way destroy them than with a ghoul who could slip into their ranks and could not disobey him?

He hoped for only a moment that maybe one of his old war buddies had become a ghoul too, and had heard his name, remembering that that was what they had called him when they had been kids. Maybe, just maybe, they were coming to get the contract, so that he'd have some ounce of freedom again.

It was stupid to hope for that. Everyone he'd ever known and loved was dead, and even if they weren't dead, they'd have probably been twisted into monsters like most others that had survived the Great War. No matter how many ghouls he met, he'd never even once heard whisper of anyone he knew. Not his friends. Not his war buddies. Not his brother.

Lord knew that if his brother was still around, he'd have only complained that he hadn't gotten enough recognition in the past for his novels. Then he probably would have gone on to say that he had predicted the end of all mankind in one of his short stories. He'd have been too useless to help him out, it was always the other way around when they were kids. He could've never survived through all this.

It didn't matter. Not anymore. Not after, what? Two hundred years? His life was shit, and it was always going to be shit.

The door creaked open and he grabbed his shotgun, and it was the girl who'd bought his contract. Time had flown by so quickly it had already become the next day without him noticing, the early sun peeking over the smashed buildings of downtown DC. She came over to the pile of junk that he had accumulated and picked through it, carefully placing each item into her bag. She hadn't seemed like the type of person to pack like it were a puzzle. He had assumed she would have just thrown it all together and left immediately.

She also looked through the books that he had collected, as per her instructions, and then sorted them into to piles. The large pile, he soon found out, were the books that were 'unsaveable'. They all looked in pretty bad shape to him.

Once she had finished packing she yawned, and drew the bags over her shoulders, then tipped a little to the side before catching herself. She heaved the bag full of newly acquired items back down to the floor, then thought for a moment before handing it off to him.

"Can you carry that for me?"

"As you command," He said, grabbing the strap and effortlessly throwing it over his shoulder. Cassidy led the way out of the museum and to the Mall's North East station. He wondered where it was that they were going, but didn't have to wait long.

"We're heading East, to Rivet City," She said, descending into the station, giving only a small pause before they went into the tunnels fully. He cleared out everything that they came across, no matter what it was, she continued talking.

"We might have to stay there awhile, I don't know if my message will get back to Megaton before winter comes," She told him in between exterminating the infested subway, "So there might not be much to do."

He grunted in response when she paused to wait for him to speak to her.

"Well, anyways. I guess it'll get pretty boring, but I suppose that beats standing against a wall and throwing drunks out."

"Yes, Mistress."

"Oh, you don't have to call me that," She said.

"Then what should I call you?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer, but needing to know anyways.

"My name, duh."

"You have not given your name," He pointed out to her.

She stopped, "Oh, well... It's Cassidy. Cassidy DeLoria."

"All right, Miss DeLoria."

She sighed.

 

 


	8. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella returns to Vault 101 after hearing a distress signal from Amata, Butch joins her in leaving the Vault, and Ella has an unlikely meeting with a stranger.

_Ella Rhodes_

_-September 21st, 2277-_

 

Ella had finally gotten to sleep on the couch, finding it a little more comforting to be near the door, in case Cassidy had stumbled in with some new wound she'd managed to get. Dogmeat layed at the foot of the couch, snoring slightly, his ears perking up whenever he head footsteps upon the metal that their house was situated on. When the footsteps would taper off, he would go back to sleep quickly.

She wished that she could've fallen asleep like that, but instead it was difficult to get there, not knowing if Cassidy was laying somewhere dying or if she'd made it. Or maybe she had stopped for the night, bunked up in some little hole to sleep for a couple of hours and resume her voyage.

Ella was startled when knocking came upon the front door, she jolted up, finding that she had gone to sleep, if only for a little bit. She quickly checked the time on her Pip-Boy, then grabbed her gun and inched towards the door. Dogmeat stood behind her, barking at the door and tensing up because she had become tense and ready for a fight.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Nova!" The voice on the other end said.

She sighed and tossed the gun aside, Dogmeat instantly relaxed as she opened the door, greeting the red head, "What are you doing here?"

"Do you have a radio?"

"Yes, of course I do," She replied to the odd question, just about everyone in Megaton had a radio, the only difference with her was that she had hers on a Pip-Boy.

"Gob was lookin' through the stations, trying to get anything other than the Enclave to work, then heard something, clear as a bell!" She gasped, giving her the frequency quickly. Ella rubbed her eyes and went to grab her Pip-Boy, Nova gave her the frequency again when she'd forgotten it.

At first she heard nothing, then a robotic voice came through the darkness; " _ **This is an automated distress message from – Vault Tec – Vault One-Oh-One – Message Begins**_ **:** _It feels like you left home a long time ago, but, I know you're still out there. I just, hope you're still alive to hear this. Things got worse since you left, my father's gone mad with power. If you can hear this, please stop looking for you Dad and help stop mine. I changed the door password to my name, if you're hearing this, and you still care enough to help me, you should remember it._ _ **\- Message repeats... This is an automated distress message from -**_ _"_

Ella turned it off with a shudder, she didn't want to think about it. Nova nodded, almost sagely, having done her job, she bid Ella goodnight and left.

Ella had no idea that the emergency signal had been noticed by more than just Nova. The rumor of the signal had spread and every radio in Megaton was turned to the station, every ear in Megaton was listening. But they listened regardless of if she knew or not, and they waited anxiously. No one in the town had any real idea what went on in that underground place, and for all they knew there could've been a nuclear bomb bigger than the one that sat dead in the center of their town, and that it could blow up at any moment, and take them along with the Vault.

The morning came, the sun peeked over the horizon, and people gathered where they could, on balconies, along the street, and they watched as Ella appeared from her home, lightly geared, and walked out of town with Dogmeat at her side.

 

Ella stood at the mouth of the cave, staring at the door that not even a month ago she'd opened and saw the sun for the first time. The first time she'd felt the warmth on her skin, the first time she'd felt like a small fish who'd escaped her small pond of poisonous water, and made for the ocean that was no better.

She shifted from foot to foot, anxiously staring at the wood grain upon the rotting door. Dogmeat was by her side, nuzzling into her thigh supportively.

Tears in her eyes, she finally gasped and stopped a foot, "Don't be a baby," She told herself, and she opened the shack-like door. Peering down the dark corridor of stone, it took her a minute or two for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer lights. Ella stumbled down the dirt path, rocks coming loose at her feet.

She arrived at the control board and put in Amata's name as the password, and the vault door began to be primed to open. The screeching caused her to jump, and Dogmeat began to yowl and bark at the loud noise. Ella stepped inside carefully, already it felt as though these walls were closing in.

Ella had to stop and breath a bit, wondering if she would be able to escape from this place again if she had to. Would she die down here? She didn't want to, but it might be unavoidable. She just wanted to help Amata as quickly as possible and leave.

She stood at the console that controlled the door for a few minutes, before remembering that she should be close enought ot pick up the Vaults' PA system on her Pipboy. She dug it out of her pack and checked, but when she went to the right station, it had nothing. She and Dogmeat would have to go into this blind.

Ella tucked the Pipboy back into her bag, and patted Dogmeat a bit to give her a bit of a boost to her confidence. She input Amata's name into the controls and waited. After a minute or two of whirring and sounds of gears turning, the Vault door began to disengage. It screeched backward, Dogmeat barking and growling wildly at the sounds. She shushed him and gave him more pets to calm him down as the Vault door rolled out of the way. Once he'd stopped whining she turned back towards the vault and shakily stepped in.

She hadn't wanted to come back. She'd never wanted to come back. Dogmeat nuzzled her leg, and she felt better about it. Ella stepped through quickly, there was blood on the ground and the walls, and she didn't want to begin to imagine whose it could be.

She opened the door, but then was startled by the appearance of someone in full Vault Security Gear. Ella nearly went for her gun, but immediately recognized the man as Officer Gomez.

"Stop right there!" He said, gun in hand. She put her hands up despite her earlier reflex, and Dogmeat growled, "I don't know how you got in here, but... Hold on..."

She could see him look at her peculiarly, his eyes squinting and then recognition came over his face, "It's you! I- I hardly recognized you! What the hell happened to you?"

"It's erm... bad, I know," She replied, lowering her hands somewhat, and he began to put his gun away, "It's tough out there, but Cassidy was there to help me."

" _Jesus_. I'm... I'm starting to think that the Overseer was right... it is dangerous out there."

She shook her head quickly, "There's safe places, too. I- I let my guard down, when I shouldn't have."

Gomez didn't seem all that convinced, "What are you doing back here, anyways?"

"Oh, I got Amata's message. I came to see her."

"Amata's message? She sent you a message?"

"Yeah, through the Vaults' emergency radio system."

"I didn't even know we had an emergency radio system," He replied, "But if she really did send you a message, then that's the sort of information you should keep under your hat, if you get what I'm saying. For her sake, at least. She could get in some real trouble if anyone were to find out that she sent you a message. Then again, so would I just for talking to you."

"Yeah... I know," She sighed, "I'm not planning on staying, I just want to help Amata."

"You... you really would want to go out there again even after an injury like that?" He asked her, surprise showing on his face clearly.

She nodded, "Like I said, there's safe places too. There's a town not too far from here. Cassidy and I have been living there, and we make money by gathering scrap."

"Well," He sucked in a breath, "I suppose that doesn't sound too terrible. And if you really would rather be out there with all that danger, I suppose that has to say something about the Vault, doesn't it? Where is Cassidy, by the by?"

"She was away. I'm still.... healing... from injuries. She went in my place to ask around for my Dad."

"You still haven't found him yet?"

"No," She sighed, "I'm afraid he might already be dead."

Gomez smiled nervously, "Keep looking up, I'm sure that he's okay. Your Dad wouldn't have wandered out into the wasteland without being prepared."

She bit at her lip, even more nervous than he was, "Gomez... Do... I mean to say... I wasn't born in the Vault, was I?"

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, startled.

"I mean... I found someone who said he knew my Dad before he went into the Vault. He said that he knew me too when I was a baby. But I thought that that couldn't have been possible, because no one ever enters and no one ever leaves. That's what everyone always says though... and he might be a bastard, but I think he was telling the truth, because I found someone else who had a Vault Suit from our Vault."

Gomez shifted in his stance, "He was. Back before Almodovar became Overseer, the Vault used to be open. There was an away team to gather supplies and trade with the local settlements. Something really terrible had happened to the away party, I don't quite remember what though, no one ever really spoke of it, but then the title of Overseer changed hands and the door was shut forever."

"But what about me and my Dad?"

"He was allowed in, only because we'd just lost our doctor, and nobody could replace them. When he came and said that he was one, well, the Overseer made an exception. But I really shouldn't have told you all that, just... just don't say you heard it from me, got it?"

She nodded, understanding, "Thank you."

"Well... now that that's that, what do you plan to do down here?"

"I... I don't know. If there's so many people who want to leave, why don't they?"

Gomez shook his head, "It's not a matter of that they want to leave, they don't. They want to open the door and interact with the rest of the world. Even if it puts all of us in danger."

"I don't think that by itself would be dangerous. So, where's Amata at?"

He shrugged, "I couldn't tell you exactly. I wouldn't know. She and her Rebels have blocked off a portion of the Vault, but you know your way around. I'm sure that you'd find her."

She nodded, "Thank you, again."

"No problem. But, if anyone asks, you didn't see me on your way in, and we never had this chat."

"All right."

He left, taking his time in getting back to the office he was stationed at as she rushed downstairs. She opened a door, and carefully peeked into the main room of the Vault, seeing that there was an officer she didn't know standing his ground against Freddie, across the room.

"D-don't you come any closer!" The officer said, and she recognized the voice as belonging to Mr Taylor. She could hear what Freddie said from where he was, but could hear him yell 'Tunnel Snakes Rule!'

Mr Taylor shot a round, and Freddie scrambled away. Mr Taylors' hand came back shaking and sweaty. She thought it would be better to not startle him, both because he might have a heart attack and because he might shoot her. She snuck past him as he began to turn, fumbling with the gun slightly as he tried to regain his breath. Dogmeat followed her quietly.

She approached the door that lead down to the lower levels, the same door that Freddie had disappeared into. It opened for her and she came face to face with a wall of furniture. How had Freddie gone through so quickly and easily? She hadn't seen him climb anything.

But if he had done it, then that meant that there was a way through somehow. She braced herself with the locker and scrambled over the table. She then tripped over whatever had been behind the desk and slammed her hips against the couch as she fell forward and onto it.

She groaned slighly, and stayed still as she waited for the dull pain to subside while she listened to Dogmeat make quick work of the obstacle. And he hadn't fallen flat on his face either. Ella rolled herself over, and got up from her spot. She reached through the furniture and closed the door behind her.

Then she turned the corner, and was nearly nose to nose with Butch. She backed up a step and put her hands on her hips, intent on saying something to him, but as she had feared, he was able to talk first.

"Damn, look who's come waltzing back. I notice that my sisters' not with you," Butch said, smirk on his face, "It takes real balls to come back here after everything your Dad screwed up."

She glared at him, and opened her mouth to speak, but he continued.

"But, if you've come back, you should make yourself useful. You gotta help us."

"Well... I'm here to help the entire Vault..."

"Screw the Vault, man. You gotta help _me_ get outta here. I don't wanna be stuck down here for the rest of my life. I could go out there, and make my own choices!"

"You mean, Cassidys' choices?"

"Well..." Butch got red in the face, "Nah! I can do things by myself... It's just... We were always together ya'know? The inseperable twin hellions!"

She smirked, understanding, "All right... just take me to Amata, and I'll take you with me."

"Where is Cassidy, anyways?"

She sighed, was everyone going to ask her that question? "She was away when I got the signal. She doesn't even know I'm down here..."

"'Kay," He scratched some stubble, the Rebels' side of the vault must not have access to razors or something, "Oh, I'll take ya to Amata. She's over here."

He led her and Dogmeat through the halls and to the Clinic, there were all sorts of furniture that was tipped and blood and grime smeared the walls of every hall and room. The door to the Clinic opened and half a dozen eyes swiveled to her and Butch as they stepped through. Amata jumped up from her place on one of the chairs and came to her with a large hug.

"Oh my God! You're actually back!" She pulled away momentarily, tears in her eyes, "I thought maybe you had died!"

"Well, obviously I'm not," She tried her best at a smile, "I came back as soon as I heard the broadcast."

She was once again enveloped into a hug, "Oh! Thak you!" Then she was at arms length again, if this kept up she was going to get whiplash, "But, what happened to you?"

"Oh, just... the risk of living out in the wasteland. It's not too bad though, it could have ended up a lot worse."

Amata nodded solemnly, "Well, I'm glad that you're here and you're still alive. But everything's been crazy since you left."

"I've noticed."

"You need to help me set things straight!"

"You saved my life Amata, the least I could do is... is do my best."

She was led into the room, and they sat together at the table, "I... I found out that the Vault wasn't always closed," Amata admitted, "That we sent had sent Scouts outside when we were babies, but then the Vault closed. I can't believe that all of this death was just to protect a lie."

Ella nodded, "I found out when I got outside about that. It's terrible to think that they've kept us down here all of our lives thinking they could keep that a secret. We didn't ever have a choice about it."

Amata nodded, tears still clinging to her eyes, "Oh, Susie, could you sneak down to the Cafeteria?" She turned back to her, "I'm sure you haven't eaten in awhile now."

"Oh, I've got food. I've even brought a bit. I would like some water though."

Susie nodded and quickly made her way through the door of the Clinic. Ella reached over and grabbed her pack, hauling it up to the table and going through it. She pulled out some of the pre-war foods she'd bought between Moira and Jenny.

She'd brought Vodka, mostly because she knew she could trust Vodka as a disinfectant, a Nuka Cola, a couple boxes of Cram, and a box of Fancy Lads Snack Cakes. Everyone in the room was absolutely mesmerized by the appearance of the food.

"You brought this much with you? Did you expect to be here overnight or something?" Butch asked.

She shook her head, "This is about as much as I eat out there. Though, not always pre-war stuff. We do eat fresh meat a lot too."

" _Fresh_ meat?" Amata asked, entirely stunned.

"Erm... well..." She shrugged, "Molerat? Mostly? There's a lot out there, and it doesn't taste too bad."

"Ew."

"There's also Brahmin, but It's a little more rare to find because Brahmin are also pack animals. We've eaten Radroach... once."

"Radroach?" Butch nearly gagged, "I don't even wanna think about it."

"It... actually just tastes like _really_ peppery Cram," Everyone made a face, "It was only like, _once_. Dogmeat likes it though."

It was as if Dogmeat had appeared out of thin air. He tilted his head and looked up to her when she said his name, and everyone turned towards him. There was an array of cooing made at the dog, which he was happy to recieve. Ella was able to get back into a conversation with Amata, with a little more sense of privacy now that everyone else was preoccupied with Dogmeat.

"It sounds like your father is mad with power... No offense intended."

"None taken," Amata sighed, "That's just what he's done. It's not like we want to leave forever. We just want to be able to have a connection to the outside world."

"Well... Butch wasnt to leave..."

"Yeah, but he's too much of a coward to go out on his own. Even to try to find his own sister."

She nodded, steering the conversation back, "I'll talk to him."

"Would you?" Amata bit her lip nervously, "Just... please don't hurt him."

"You know that I wouldn't."

"Thanks. If anybody could talk sense into him, it would be you."

They shared on last hug, and she left the room. She thought about leaving Dogmeat behind to his adoring fans, but he ran out and made his way to her side. She scratched his ear before they wove their way through the maze that was Vault 101.

She made her way easily to the Overseers' office. She knew the layout of this place that had been home to her for nineteen years, but she hesitated at the door. Amata's father had been less than polite with her the last time they'd spoken. She thought that she wouldn't have been able to escape at all, and that Amata would have been taken down with her.

How could he try to kill his own daughter.

She shook her head. It had to have been a brief madness that had taken his mind. He couldn't have actually meant that. Ella opened the door, and walked in carefully. Her hand itched against her holster as she stepped quietly towards his actual office.

He was standing there, resolutely with his hands behind his back, turned away from her. He was staring down out of the Overseers' window and out into the main antechamber of the Atrium.

She cleared her throat nervously, and he turned, then smirked.

"Well, look who's returned?" He crossed the room and sat down at his desk, he waved her over to the other, and she crossed to the other side of the desk, but she didn't sit, "Done with all the dust and ruins of the wasteland are you? Now that you've gone and seen how dangerous it can be up close? Thought you could just slink back in like a teen missing curfew? Well, you have no future in this Vault, you're not welcome back. You're _tainted_."

"No one in this Vault is going to have much of a future. Not with you as Overseer."

He frowned, "That's where you're wrong. By locking down this Vault, I'm _protecting_ it's future. In fact, I was protecting the Vault when I had to make all those difficult decisions the night you and your father left. All this unpleasantness is his fault."

She got angry, "This is not his fault. And it's now mine. No one was a threat to you or the Vault, so don't try to blame us for your murder and lies. I know tha tthe Vault was open a long time ago, and Amata does too."

He laughed at her, "When have you ever had to make a difficult decision in your entire life? Jonas would have left the Vault as well, and then others would have gotten the same idea and left as well. What would become of the Vault once there's only half of our numbers? Less than? We'd be nothing more than a handful of aging hold-outs."

She shook her head, "They don't want to leave the Vault, and you don't have to be isolated from the rest of the world to protect the people here."

"What makes you so sure about that? I can't imagine you're still so naïve after spending all of that time outside in that hell. No one here knows what it's like outside, they'd all die out there, and then the rest of us in here would die. I'm not going to risk everyone's safety for the passing fancy of a few teenagers."

She sighed, "Look, it's not just about a passing fancy. They want to feel connected to the world. You should just open the Vault door."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you don't have enough people here as it is."

"Sure, our numbers have dwindled since the war..."

"And i fyou keep going like this, there'll only be a few generations left to live in the Vault. You can't sustain a population without bringing new genetics in."

He thought it over for a moment, and she nervously swayed on her feet, hoping he would see the logic in her reasoning, "My God, you're right. Even if we only opened the Vault for supplies, we'd only last another hundred years with our current genetic diversity. We're the last bastion of pure humanity and we're doomed."

"Humanity isn't about pure genetics..." She sighed, finally relieved to see that he'd come around to see reason, "It's about hope... and courage."

"Your optimism is astounding... If a little misguided. But I see the point of it all," He sighed, "I can't protect this Vault doing this my way. So... so..." He trailed off, "I have to speak to my daughter. I'm going to step down as Overseer."

She was absolutely stunned, so stunned that he was able to leave the room without her even realizing it. She made her way out and after him, there was no sign of him as she traveled back down to the Clinic, so he must have gotten a very good headstart on her.

Amata looked at her with wide eyes when she'd walked through the door, then came and hugged her. It was almost a repeat of last time, "I can't believe you did it! I don't know how or why, but something you said to him changed his mind! And he's made me Overseer!"

"Congratulations," She smiled back. Amata was so happy, but then faltered slightly.

"I... I have to take the position of Overseer seriously.... and... and there are so many people who still blame you and your Dad for what happened...."

Ella realized what she was saying, that she wanted her to leave, "It's okay. I wasn't planning on staying."

"I... really?" Amata asked, "You're not angry?"

She shook her head, "No. I really wasn't planning on staying. The Vault... it's just... too much for me."

Amata nodded, "I understand. I wish you the very best of luck out there."

"The same to you down here."

They embraced a final time, and Ella made her way out. She may have agreed to go on her own, and she may have not wanted to return for good, but that didn't mean that it didn't still hurt. And it did.

She ignored this all and mechanically went about crawling through the doorway again, as it was the quickest way out, and this time she didn't trip through it. Going past Mr Taylor and back up the stairs, she waved at Officer Gomez, who returned the goodbye. He didn't know about the change yet, but Ella was sure that everyone would know soon. She stepped out of the Vault and sighed.

Ella had just gotten to the shack door and opened it, seeing that it was already evening and the sun had mostly disappeared under the horizon. She turned back as the Vault door began to shut, and just as it began to roll into place, her heart nearly stopped when Butch slipped through before the fifteen ton door could close.

"What the fuck did you think you were doing?" She screamed at him as he jogged non-chalantly over to her, "You could have gotten crushed!"

Butch just shrugged, "So El, you just gunna stand there or are we going to head on down to wherever you and my sis are staying?"

She glared at him, "Fine. But you're going to have to pull your weight, you know. Out here isn't like the vault."

"Sure, sure. What's it that you and Cassidy do then?"

She grumbled and led him out through the door, letting him take in the sight of the wastes below them for a few minutes before answering, "We made a bit of good money scavenging, but I've been restoring old books and Cassidy's learned to repair armor."

"What, like the security guys wear?"

"Sort of..." She sighed, they walked down the little street, passing the eyebot happily bobbing it's way through the empty town, Dogmeat barked at it, "It's really dangerous out here."

"Heh, dangerous," Butch chuckled, "I bet in no time I'm gunna have my own gang under me."

Ella narrowed her eyes at him. This was, of course, why Cassidy was the brains behind the Tunnel Snakes. Even in the shock of seeing the world at large for the first time, she'd still had her senses together enough to know that they should have stuck together, even if they weren't the best of friends.

Which brought up something into her mind. She'd never thought of Cassidy as a friend before, when they'd left the Vault they were quite the opposite. She'd thought it would only be an alliance of convenience, but Cassidy had gone above and beyond what a normal friend would do. She had done more that Amata would have, and Ella had considered Amata her best friend.

She shook her head free of these thoughts, she could brood on them later when she had the time. Or when she was lying in bed with nothing else to do but try to go to sleep. They approached the gates of Megaton, the rays of sunlight almost completely devoid from the doors. Deputy Weld greeted her as they walked through.

Ella shuffled tiredly into town, followed by Butch and Dogmeat, both following her like ducklings followed their mother duck. He couldn't pick his jaw up off of the ground, and she hoped distantly that she hadn't looked half as doe-eyed as he did. She led him down the path a little, stopping at the pipeline when she noticed something odd.

Most of the shops had already closed up, and most people were up in Moriarty's, enjoying something other than his beer, but down at the undetonated bomb, there was a figure that was completely cloaked by darkness. Whoever it was looked to be fiddling with the wires of the bomb and mumbling to himself.

She turned to Butch slightly, "Do me a favor... Go back up the hill and to that house right there," She pointed to where Sheriff Simms' house was, he was sure to be resting after a long day of patrolling and checking in on people. He didn't usually go to Moriarty's, so it was more than likely that he would be there.

"Why've I gotta-"

"Sh," She whispered, "Just do it, and tell the man at the door that it's very important."

His nose scrunched up, and he huffed before turning around and walking back up the hill. She pressed forward slowly and quietly, Dogmeat, being the intelligent dog he was, followed suit.

Ella was able to get right up next to the strange man, who she could hear was now mumbling and cursing under his breath as he looked through the wires that she'd cute short on purpose nearly a month ago. Her hand went to her gun, drawing it out of its' holster slowly, then gripped it with both hands uneasily.

"What are you doing?" She asked the man.

He jumped and fumbled and ended up on his ass in the mud. He drew his gun and she leveled hers at him. They stayed like that for a few minutes, until Sheriff Simms came down to investigate, followed by Butch.

"What's going on here?"

"I found this man messing with the bomb," She said, "I think he was trying to re-rig it."

Simms drew his rifle, pointing it down at the man as well, "Well?"

The stranger raised his hands, and tossed his gun to their feet, "I ain't done anything, though," He said, "The bombs' wires are too short."

Simms frowned, "What do you wanna go and blow it up for, anyways?"

"I ain't got a beef with you or your town. I was paid to do it."

"Paid? By who?" She asked.

"A man named Mister Burke."

Simms grumbled, "So you're just another one of Tenpenny's henchmen then?"

"I ain't no henchman to no one," The stranger replied, "I'm the best mercenary in the Capital Wasteland. You want something done, I do it."

Simms looked him up and down, "Get out of town, and don't come back. Or we'll shoot you where you stand."

"Righto," He smiled, standing from his spot in the puddle, "I'll leave, and never come back."

He grabbed his gun and holstered it, she kept it level at him as he passed their little group and had already traveled a little ways up to the gates.

She lowered it, "So who is the best mercenary in the Capital Wasteland?"

He turned and grinned, "Why, James Rhodes, of course."

She brought her gun back up and pointed it directly at his face, his grin vanished, his hands lifting a bit from his belt, "Don't. Don't you dare. You're _not_ James Rhodes, so don't use that name."

"Hold up, kid. It's just a name. The name I was born with."

Simms looked to her with concern, "Isn't your last name Rhodes, too?"

"Yeah," Butch said, "Why's he got your dads' name?"

The man saying he was James laughed and doubled over. Once he was done he straightened a wiped a tear from his eye, "Oh! Oh, maybe I should have introduced myself properly. I'm James Rhodes _Junior_. But you, little sister, can call me Jamie."

"Sister?" She whispered.

"He's your brother?" Butch looked at her, his eyes wide, "For real?"

"I don't _have_ a brother."

"So, Dad never spoke about me? That... that actually hurts a bit. Can't believe he would do something like that to you Ella."

"How do you know my name?"

"Because I was there when you were born, _duh_. I wasn't lying, when I said that I'm James Rhodes Junior."

"Why wouldn't he tell me then?"

He shrugged, "Why would you ask me that? You should be asking him that. Where is dear old dad, by the by?"

"I... I don't know."

He shrugged again, "Alright. But, since I'm leaving, I guess I'll see you out in the wastes, if, of course, you ever venture out there."

He turned and walked back up to and through the gates of Megaton. Only after he had disappeared did Simms gently pull her pistol from his grip, "You okay?"

"I... Uh..." She was suddenly light headed, "I don't feel well."

"C'mon, I'll help you back," He said, holstering her gun and leading her up the ramp and to her and Cassidys' house. Butch and Dogmeat followed after.

She felt as thought she'd died, as she was sat on the couch, and she asked to be left alone. Simms left, after a small chat with Butch, and Butch went upstairs to his sisters' room, where she told him it'd be. Dogmeat laid at her feet and whimpered up at her. Her head was like dead weight in her hands, and though she sat there for quite awhile, she had hardly any time to think about it before there was a soft knock on the door.

Ella stood, and fumbled at the handle, and opened it with no real wariness. It was Nova, again.

The red haired woman looked to her, "You might want to get your radio again."

 

 

- _September 22nd, 2277_ -

 

Ella had been up half the night listening to GNN, waiting for him to mention what Nova had heard earlier in the evening, to get the details exactly right, and wondering and worrying about the fact that she had a brother she didn't know about.

She awoke with only a few hours of sleep, and it was already pretty close to noon when she padded downstairs to find that Butch had already taken it upon himself to go through the kitchen and make himself something to eat. There wasn't much left after he'd swept through it, so she had some sugar bombs and then went to confront him.

"You know you're not going to be able to eat like that all the time, right?"

"Why not?" He asked, laying across the couch without any real interest in what was going on or what he could be working on, "Isn't there like, an endless supply of food out here? Isn't that why the vault was opened up?"

"No," She sighed, "There isn't an endless supply of food, and food costs _money_. It's not like in the vault where you're guaranteed a rationed serving for every meal."

"All right, I getcha," He scratched his jaw, "They got a barber here in Megaton?"

"No. And I don't think you'd get that much business anyways."

"Why not?"

"Because most people either don't bother, or do it themselves."

"Huh," He grumbled, "But that's the only thing I know how to do..."

"Yeah, but Cassidy learned how to sew so that she could repair armor and boots," Ella gestured over to the pile that Cassidy had left, since the living room was technically her workspace.

"Yeah, but that sounds hard," He complained.

She groaned, "Let's just go see Moira, before she closes for lunch."

"Who's Moira, and why?" He asked, not making a move to get up from the couch.

"You're going to need new clothes. The vault suits aren't very durable out here, they're only really good in the enclosed environment of the vault," She sighed, opening one of the lockers and shifting through to find the caps that had been left behind for her, "And you're going to need armor and weapons."

"For real? Why? I thought you and Cassidy had all this shit settled out..."

"We still have to go out into the wastes," This was proving to me way more effort than it seemed it was worth. He was useless, "I got a message from Cassidy through the radio last night, to meet her at some place called Rivet City. You should at least know how to shoot before we head out."

"Oh," He finally swung his legs around and sat up, "So we gotta go meet her somewhere? Where's she off to, anyways?"

"She went off to downtown DC. It was too dangerous for us to go as a group, so she went by herself because she's quicker than I am."

"But what for?"

"To find my Dad."

"Really? She's helping you find him? I would've thought that she would'a been running this dump by now."

She glared at him, "This dump is now our _home_ , and if you don't like it, feel free to run back to Amata with your tail between your legs. You don't know the first thing about being up here, and you're acting like a complete fool if you think that it's anything like living in the vault, so get your ass up and _let's go_."

Ella ripped open the door, stomping out without even checking if he had followed. She walked all the way to Craterside Supply before Butch was able to catch up with her. She led him into the store and was greeted happily by Moira.

"Oh look!" She squealed in delight, "Another vault dweller!"

"Yeah," Ella sighed, "Could you give him some clothes? And armor? I don't care what you give him exactly, as long as it fits him."

"Well sure!" Moira chirped, "I can do that! Anything else?"

"Something strong to drink to get me through the day," She mumbled.

"Oh you!" She replied, but brought out a bottle of whiskey for her anyway, and Ella took a swig from the bottle as Moira poked and prodded Butch into the back room. She'd had a few more gulps of it before they reappeared, Butch now looking a little more like an actual wastelander.

"He needs a gun too. Let's just say a ten and a rifle. And some ammo," All of the weapons she'd come by so far had been split between her and Cassidy, and if Butch wanted more than was she was willing to buy, then he could pick it up off of some raiders.

"All righty then," She smiled as she grabbed the two from the shelf.

"How much do I owe you?" She asked as Moira came back to her counter.

"Oh..." Moira counted up everything she'd bought, "I'd say two hundred forty-four caps should cover it?"

Ella brought out the cap purse and counted out the caps. She still had a good portion left when she, Butch, and Dogmeat left the store. Instead of heading back to the house, she instead led the three of them outside of town.

They came upon the outcropping of rocks that she and Cassidy had sat on just a couple of days ago, but now it felt like it's been forever since she'd seen the other twin. She scouted out for awhile, searching for a good target, while Butch sat and complained.

Once she spotted a mole rat, she grabbed Butch by the collar and hauled him up to his feet. He complained and whined about that too, until she shoved the rifle into his arms.

She simply pointed to the molerat, she didn't want to have to talk to Butch more than was necessary, "Shoot that."

He brought the gun up, and she immediately needed to correct his stance, and he held the gun all wrong. Once he was properly holding it and standing upon the rocks, she left him, and he shot.

He had missed the molerat, and it had scampered away.

"Dogmeat," She whistled, giving the simple command. His ears perked up, "Go get it."

He took off like a rocket, tracking down the molerat, and dragging it back while it was still half dead.

"Watch out for others while I cut this one up."

He gave her a disgusted look, but she jumped down from the rocks and went to Dogmeat and the molerat. She stabbed it in the spine and waited for a few minutes when she knew that it would be good and dead, and then began to cut it up into chuncks and stashed the meat in her bag. Dogmeat followed her back to the rocks and they tried again. On the third molerat, Butch was able to land a hit, though it wasn't a killing blow, and Dogmeat had to go and kill it and bring it back again.

It was a lot of meat, and she was sure that Jenny would be happy to buy some off of her. A few steaks and some noodles would make for a good dinner, but the molerats weren't likely to reappear around the perimeter again for some time. She guessed that it didn't matter immediately anyways, since no one else regularly hunted the molerats that lurked just outside the walls, and she wasn't going to be here for awhile.

"We'll stop for right now. We can maybe try to find some bloatflies that like to hang around the farm that's on the way to the Super Duper Mart a bit later, since it's still pretty early," She told him. They packed up their weapons and she slung her backpack over her shoulder. They'd definitely be eating a little better than normal tonight, with how much they'd gotten.

They were near the gates when Ella noticed a brahmin packed down with a lot of gear and luggage. She wondered just what was going on as she approached the gates to find Simms talking with a man she hadn't seen before.

"What's going on?" She asked as the two paused their conversation to watch the two as they approached.

"This is Crazy Wolfgang," Simms smiled and introduced them, "He's a trader. Wolfgang, this is Ella, she and her friend cleared out that school."

The trader shook her hand excitedly, "We're thankful to you two," He smiled and looked between her and Butch, "Haven't been able to get through to Megaton the past couple'a months."

She waved him off when he'd looked to Butch again, "He wasn't the one who helped me go through the school. Cassidy is out in Rivet City right now."

"Ah," He smiled anyways, "Maybe I'll see her when I'm out there, so I can thank her too. Of course I'll give you a discount on anything you need, since you opened my best route up."

"You're heading out to Rivet City?" She asked, "When?"

"A couple'a days from now," He replied, "You heading that way?"

She nodded, "I don't exactly know where it's at, so it would be a huge relief to know which way to go, if you wouldn't mind the company."

"Well I certainly wouldn't refuse a few extra hands," Wolfgang said, "A couple'a good guns while passing nearby downtown DC is always good."

"Thanks," She replied, "When are you leaving exactly?"

"The thirteenth, around morning. Unless the Autumn storms start blowing in."

Ella nodded, "All right. We'll get prepared to leave and meet you then."

They shook hands and separated. She, Butch, and Dogmeat passed through the gates, while Wolfgang went about his own business in the town. The three of them stumbled down to the Brass Lantern, and Jenny happily brought out one of her large soup pots and stuck it on the stove as she searched around for some water. Some of the meat went into the pot and some of it was handed off to be grilled somewhere else. They were paid and Ella split the caps with Butch, since he'd at least made an effort, and were promised a free bowl when it was done.

The water could barely cover the meat, but Jenny had also dumped in some whiskey and bourbon in as well, which Ella was looking forward to the dinner that they'd have. She also searched around for some other ingredients to put in, she spied tatoes being pulled out to cut and bowls of noodles put on standby for after the large chunks of molerat would be taken out to cut the meat off of the bone later on. It would take awhile, even if it were just the meat.

Ella sighed and turned to Butch, "We might as well go and get you some more practice while we wait," She said.

He reluctantly followed her up and out of the town, and she began to lead their little party towards the Super Duper Mart.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've added James Rhodes Jr to the All Roads Lead Somewhere Master Post on my Blogger [Here](http://extra-dimensional-reconnaissance.blogspot.com/2017/05/all-roads-lead-somewhere-master-post.html).


	9. Rivet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella, Butch, and Dogmeat meet up with Cassidy and Charon. The contract changes hands once again.

_Cassidy DeLoria_

- _September 23rd, 2277-_

 

They'd taken their time to scavenge through a few buildings, splitting the load a little more evenly than what had been arranged the day before, and she and Charon had ended up bunking in some utility closet in the subway. He was awake when she'd gone to sleep, and was awake when she'd gotten up. Cassidy wondered just when he was going to sleep, or if he needed to at all.

Though, now it was about noon and they stood on the platform leading to Rivet City, waiting for the bridge to swing over to them. The ship that was a city awed her, as it's huge gray steel bulk towered over most of the buildings they'd been through, and looked to be about the length of the mall was. It was an impressive feat of pre-war engineering, and she hadn't even seen the inside of it yet.

A man named Harkness, who was the head security of the place, laid down the rules for them when they arrived at the other side of the bridge.

Their first stop was the marketplace, and she sold off what she could and bought up whatever ammo she could find. Charon silently followed her as she made her purchases and left.

Then, as she was trying to find the science lab to talk to Doctor Li, she stumbled across a little church and looked around with interest. Charon took a spot near the door as she wandered in, she looked around a bit before she was met by the Priest of the church. She'd never really been that religious, especially when Ella had taken Chaplaincy of the Vault church, but at that time she'd seen it as a useless profession in the scope of keeping the Vault running. Needless to say, she didn't think that it was all unfounded and unneeded now, and that even a Chaplain or a Priest could hold their own when it came down to a fight.

He shook her hand and introduced himself, giving her a grandfatherly smile, "Hello. I think you are new to Rivet City, aren't you?"

"Yeah," She said, "We just got in, but I was kind of surprised to see that there was a church set up here."

He nodded, "Yes, the Church of Saint Monica."

"Who's Saint Monica? I'd never heard of her before."

"Never?"

She shook her head, "I was born in a Vault, you see."

"Ah," He said, "I see, I see. Well, Saint Monica is the Patron Saint of Lost Children. I tell her story every Sunday, if you'd like to hear it."

Cassidy nodded, "What day is it today? I haven't been able to keep track of it all."

"Wednesday," He said.

"Okay. I'll make sure to come by," Cassidy replied, "Oh, but I have a friend who's a Chaplain, she's also from the Vault, but she's really very good at restoring old books, and she's studying to become a Priest of All Faiths."

"Oh!" His eyes lit up, "I'd be very interested to meet her then. Will she be coming on Sunday as well?"

Cassidy shrugged, "She's not here in Rivet City right now, but she should be on her way. I don't know when she'll arrive though."

He nodded, "All right. Let me know, I would very much like to speak with her about Saint Monica and some of the books we have here."

"I'll let you know."

Father Clifford said goodbye to her, as he was busy reorganizing the churchs' books, and she needed to go see Doctor Li anyways.

In the Science Lab she introduced herself, and the Doctor was a little reluctant to tell her about James. It could have been because she was busy trying to get rid of a man trying to question other members of the staff, or because Cassidy wasn't actually related to James, but she eventually was able to convince her that she was there on Ella's behalf.

After being told where he'd gone off to next, she went to the hotel, and got a room. It was still pretty early, so she wandered around, following the signs in the ship, until she came across the bar called the Muddy Rudder.

All attention turned to them as they entered, and she waved Charon over to where they were going to sit and approached the owner tending the bar.

"You have food?"

"Yeah," She said, side-eyeing Charon with undisguised uneasiness, "I need to get rid of these Brahmin steaks before they go rancid, if you've got the caps for 'em of course. If not, I'll probably just eat them myself."

"Two then," She sighed and pulled out her cap purse.

She brought up two of possibly the saddest looking steaks, and Cassidy also opted to buy some pork and beans to go with it, even going so far as to pay extra for it to be heated up.

"You really going to feed that thing?" The bar tender asked, not even trying to lower her voice.

Cassidy didn't bother to lower hers either, she knew how things like that worked, and she wanted her and everyone in the barroom to know where she stood and what she expected from them, which was to keep their nose away from where it didn't belong, "Ain't your business, is it?"

She was promptly left alone as she took the too plates back to their table and handed one off to Charon. He looked at the plate a bit skeptically.

"What? It's yours," She told him.

Then he began to eat, and as the food started to enter his mouth, he quickened his pace. It appeared that he hadn't eaten anything in awhile, and then she felt a little badly, because even though she hadn't eaten last night either in that utility closet, she had no idea when he'd last eaten. She'd have to ply him with more food, because she needed him to be in tip-top shape before she'd hand off of contract to Ella.

 

 

_Charon_

_-September 27th, 2277-_

 

He and Cassidy had sat in the Muddy Rudder every day for almost a week now, only taking breaks back to their hotel room, where he'd sleep in a chair in the corner by the door, and she would take the bed. Charon had no idea what they were doing here in Rivet City, or what they were waiting for, he was very inclined to ask, but he still kept his questions to himself silently. Biting his tongue was usually better than hearing the truth.

Today was a bit different though, because now they sat in the church that they'd visited the first day they'd arrived, and waited as a large portion of the residents of Rivet City filed in to take their seats. The two of them sat in a corner, and Cassidy looked bored, and didn't even try to mask it. Which is why he wondered what they were even doing here, as he hadn't even thought of her as the religious type before they'd come here. When he saw her in the Ninth Circle, he'd just assumed that she was another wastelander, which was supported by everything she'd done since getting his contract, with the exception of coming to the church in the first place and now sitting in the makeshift pews.

The Priest of the Church came up to his podium, and began to speak, Cassidy yawned and some of the children that were seated in the front row began to squirm restlessly. It was just like church as he had remembered it before the war.

Father Clifford began to tell the story of Saint Monica, and about ten minutes into his sermon, Cassidy leaned forward to put her chin in her palm, "I thought that Ghouls couldn't have children."

"We can't," He replied simply. The question wasn't a direct order for him to answer, but it was vague enough for him to hide behind the reasoning. All he needed was another smoothskin who didn't really understand ghouls. Though, most of the time it was on the opposite scale, where people would treat him as though he were lower than them just because he'd become so irradiated that his skin had almost literally melted off.

He would have much rather prefer someone to think that he was below them because of the contract, or because the radiation had stripped him of being able to reproduce.

Cassidy hummed at the answer and continued to listen to the sermon. Afterwards they returned to the Muddy Rudder, and sat there like they had for the past four days. They sat, and they waited.

Perhaps they were waiting to meet with the mysterious person she'd be giving his contract to. Who'd have put her up to it though?

The people of Rivet City still avoided him, even after being reassured by Cassidy and security that he wouldn't do anything unless Cassidy was threatened or gave an order to, which was fine for him, and Cassidy didn't seem to care either way. Other than the first day when the bartender, whatever her name was, had asked 'You really feeding that thing?' when she had ordered for the both of them.

Cassidy's reply was 'Ain't your business, is it?' And that was the end of the conversation. Now they were served in silence, and ate in silence. There was only hushed conversations whenever they had arrived, but Cassidy gave no reason to get them kicked out, and in fact, spent most of her caps there, so it would have been stupid for the owner to make them leave too.

Other than the one visit to the science lab and the market place, and the two visits to the church, it was just from their room to the Muddy Rudder, and then from the Muddy Rudder back to their room. Every day.

He shouldn't be complaining. His new Mistress, even temporarily, let him eat something other than garbage and plate scrapings and sleep whenever she did. She overall really didn't command him to do anything, and most of her commands weren't even intentional (Not that he'd ever pointed it out to her, it was usually 'Eat' and 'Drink' and 'Stay here a minute'). She was so far the most relaxed owner of his contract. He'd told her once, in the privacy of the hotel room, in not so many words, and she just sort of laughed.

He didn't know what to make of it. He didn't know what to make of her. Charon looked up to study her, if only for a few seconds, when her eyes suddenly narrowed across the barroom.

"I thought you'd be dead by now." She half yelled, not bothering to get up to greet whomever it was. He didn't want to look. He didn't want to see who his new master would be. But a man came around the table anyways and sat next to Cassidy, lit cigarette hanging from his mouth and a black leather jacket that matched hers.

"You wish, brat."

She snorted, "Ella find you?"

"Yeah." He took a slow drag, "She's on her way, talkin' with some guy named Harkness."

"Figured she'd have fished _you_ out of that hole." She smirked, "And gave you new armor too. How nice."

"Pft. Made me carry all of her shit here for that." He complained, "Better than that old shit we had to wear though. Feels nice to have some room in my shirt."

"Why? Were you _that_ fat?"

"Har." He mumbled, then motioned to Charon, "Who's this guy?"

"Charon. He's a bodyguard for hire. Charon, this is my no-good brother, Butch."

"Oh nice. He gunna say anything, or just sit there?"

"He's not really a talker."

"He'd get along great with Ella now. She didn't say two full sentences together to me on our way here from Megaton."

"Yeah well, it's no fun to talk to someone about as dense as a wall and as stupid as a bundle of brooms."

"I am very offended." He scoffed, " _Very_. I'll tell mom."

"She'll never believe you, I'm the favorite. She still alive too?"

"Yeah, but when I left we weren't exactly on speaking terms. The place split after you and El left, Loyalists to the Overseer and the Rebels who wanted to leave."

"Who else got out?"

"No one," He said.

"No one? What about Wally, Freddie, and Paul?"

"Paul's dead." He sighed, "This's his jacket."

"Mm," She mumbled, "Wally? And Freddie?"

"Wally abandoned us. Was a fuckin' loyalist." He complained again, "Freddie stayed behind, too much stuff to do, apparently. Paul's mom is dead too, and his dad went loyalist. Christine's mother and sister are both dead, and her father turned loyalist too. Jim and Janice're dead too. So's Agnes and Bea and Stevie."

"Stevie Mack?"

"No. Stevie Armstrong. The kid who was sick all the time we were growing up. He tried to escape after you and Ella, but security got him. It was the same with Jim."

"Poor Stevie."

"Amata's in charge now. She's trying to strike up trade routes out, but even with them, everyone who stayed might not last for very much longer. They'll all have to leave too."

"They wouldn't last a day out in the wasteland." She replied, followed by a silence for awhile as Cassidy took it all in. Charon had never heard about any of these people, but he knew what it was like to lose people. He'd lost a lot in the Great War. Suddenly there was a presence at his side, his trigger finger itched against his fork instinctively, but Cassidy was nonplussed.

"Hey Ella."

He turned to look at the girl the two had talked about. She was shorter and thinner than Cassidy was, not seeming to him to be any sort of intimidating, hooded so that he couldn't see her face, entirely shrouded. The hood came off quickly though, revealing a pale complexion, though pink from a recent sunburn, and a scarred face, though it was instantly recognizable that she had beautiful round cheeks and a nice curve to her lips, despite the scar and hazy left eye. No one in the Capital Wasteland could claim to be even half as pretty as she was. He remembered hazily of gorgeous women in bars and in magazines, of which she could have easily found a place in that sort of crowd, even with such a scar. She sat by him, looking over at him only once, and then turning again to sit quietly.

Cassidy went to get the two newcomers some food, and some for the dog he hadn't noticed either. His Mistress waited for them to finish eating before she made her way around the table, leaning her hip against it as she looked down at the girl Ella.

She pulled out his contract, and handed it to the slight girl.

"What's this?" She asked.

"It's Charon's contract. I bought it for you."

He hadn't expected that. Why this girl? He listened in with an interest that he hadn't felt in more than a century. It was a strange feeling.

Ella opened up the contract, picking a pair of reading glasses from her pocket and putting them on her nose. He knew it would be no use to try to read it, the letters were too faded from time, but still it seemed like she were reading it like it were clearly printed. She sighed, and pulled a bound notebook from inside her leather jacket, and folded the contract carefully and slipped it into the pages, then returned the notebook back to the inner pocket. Cassidy returned to her seat, Butch looked to be shifting uncomfortably in his, and Ella sat next to him in complete silence still. It had to be the strangest exchange he'd ever witnessed in his entire life, and his contract had exchanged hands probably over a hundred times.

There were drinks, which were drunk silently as well, and they sat quietly all together until it was nearing midnight.

At some point he was left at the table with Cassidys' brother and the dog, as Cassidy and Ella found a corner to speak quietly before rejoining the group.

After a few more drinks they got up together, and Cassidy took her brother back to the room Charon had been sharing with her, and Ella and he got a new room. She took off her hat and hood and brushed out her brown hair with her fingers, not doing much to relieve the mess of tangles.

"What are your current standing orders from previous employers that you're still following?" She asked so suddenly that he was caught entirely off guard. Her voice was soft and smooth, like how he remembered a good wine felt like in his mouth, but she was quiet as a mouse.

"All standing orders are dropped with the exchange of the contract." He said simply.

She hummed in return thoughtfully. He thought maybe his enigmatic new employer would have ended their conversation, but she didn't.

"Do you know how to break the contract?"

"No."

"Have you read the contract?"

"No."

"Do you want to be free of the contract?"

That was a much harder question to answer. He'd lived with it for two hundred years. Maybe more, he wasn't sure the date exactly, it'd been so long since he'd needed to know what day. He'd given up tracking the years a long time ago, but other ghouls kept mentioning that the war was two hundred years ago, so he just accepted it as fact.

Of course freedom from the contract was something he'd wished for in the past, for years and years. What would he do if he was no longer bound to the contract?

That was the real question.

No, the real question was, did she know how? It seemed that she _had_ read the contract, even though most of his employers never had because of how faded it was, or because of their lack of literacy. Was there some sort of out that he had in the fine print that could release him? Something that would flip that switch in his mind from dutiful body guard to free man?

He settled on "I am unsure."

It seemed like an adequate response, considering, it was at least truthful. She seemed to accept it, anyways. Ella settled herself into her bed, and he settled in a chair by the door, this one was more rickety than the one in the other room, so he doubted he'd be at ease throughout the night.

"Does there need to be a standing order for you to sleep and eat? And... other things?"

"No... and Yes." He said. She looked at him inquisitively until he sighed and continued, "You can order me to not sleep or eat."

"Why would I do that?"

Her question was so innocent, he'd have laughed maybe a hundred years ago, "As punishment."

"That's dumb." She said, and the little bit of tenseness and curiosity he had about his strange new employer eased. She was young and inexperienced, he could tell immediately by her answers. He'd never had a holder of the contract think that with-holding food and sleep as punishment was 'dumb'. There were always small lapses in his executing his orders, like for a moment or two he didn't have to, but he was forced to do them anyways and then suffer the consequences of not following the orders of the contract holder immediately. The easiest way to do that was with-holding food. Sleep was a commodity anyways, as most of his employers would use it as both a punishment and for him to watch them as they slept in case one of their many enemies should sneak in and stab them to death in their dreams.

Ella fell asleep after letting him know there was a sleeping bag in her pack he could use. He was fine were he was for the moment, he had a lot to think about anyways.

Her friend, Cassidy, had bought the contract for her, but Ella had seemed surprised when she was given it. It told him that the buying of his contract was merely happenstance. Maybe something that Ahzrukhal had said in passing while he had served the smoothskin girl her beers in the Ninth Circle. It was all pure coincidence that he was out of that stuffy hole.

He knew that Ella had somehow been blinded in one eye, perhaps Cassidy had bought his contract for her own safety. No – that could have only been it; the eye would be more than a handicap in the wastes, it was a death sentence. However long she had managed to survive with it out here was already nothing short of a miracle.

Then it hit him: Guilt. Cassidy felt _guilty_. He'd never seen nor met anyone in this post-war world who'd had that feeling in a long time. He felt it now and again, when he was made to shoot some poor sucker in the head, but it was usually fleeting. Feeling guilt was as old world as you could get. Where had these strangers appeared from? A time machine? An alien spacecraft?

He slept a little in the chair, but the night passed quickly as he wondered what their next day would be like. What new routine he'd have to mold himself to. Charon needed to assess everything, especially since he assumed that he'd be guarding her for quite awhile. It was better to know quickly what sort of threats she attracted and how on guard he'd have to be at all hours.

 

 

- _September 28th, 2277_ -

 

Instead of unbolting the door and wandering out into Rivet City and down into the Muddy Rudder, like Cassidy had done for the past week and a half, she opened her pack and laid out breakfast for the two of them. She shared a package of Yum Yum Deviled Eggs, some brahmin jerky, and some water. It was almost like a pre-war breakfast of bacon and eggs, it sure as hell was the closest he'd gotten to in two centuries. She ate only a little, giving some of the rest that had gone uneaten to add to his plate and some of it to Dogmeat who ate it happily.

It was only afterwards that they ventured out into the rest of the decrepit ship, going down to the Muddy Rudder to meet with Cassidy and Butch, who'd eaten down there already.

"What did you find out?" Ella asked as soon as they were situated at the table.

"Dr. Rhodes wants to restart some old project, called Project Purity. It's over in the Jefferson Memorial, just a hop, skip, and a jump from here. Through Super Mutants of course."

Ella grumbled, "And you're sure that's where he went?"

"Dr. Li was positive. He tried to recruit her into the project when he came through here, and that's where all of the research and equipment is for the project."

"Then we should leave soon, shouldn't we?"

"If the weather isn't too bad today."

"It was clear out when we arrived, a little cold though," Ella responded, "Hopefully it'll hold until we can get in and out."

"We should stock up a little before we go," Cassidy suggested, "If we do get trapped over there with no way back to here or to Megaton, I don't want to starve to death."

Ella hummed in agreement, "Could you go and do that while I-?"

"Sure. It's not a problem. I already stocked up on ammo, so I guess all I'll grab is some food."

They reached the consensus quickly, and they split. Charon wondered what they were going to do while Cassidy and her brother (And Dogmeat, who followed them because Cassidy had given him some food and went with her in hopes of more scraps) went about stocking up on supplies, and _unbelievably_ , they went to the Church of Saint Monica.

Once she was out of earshot, he sighed, and leaned up against the wall near the door. They spoke extensively, though he didn't know what about. Father Clifford gave her a bundle of things, and they parted ways after she'd safely put it away in her backpack.

They left the church, walking around vaguely, until they made their way back to their room, where she got ready to head out. Their packs were redistributed, much like Cassidy had balanced their own packs to be near equal weight, and they waited for Cassidy, Butch, and Dogmeat to return.

With very little said between them, they went to the stairwell, and out onto the deck, waiting for the bridge to swing around so that they could walk across. There was little cloud coverage, but far off Charon could spot a storm. It was likely that it would never reach them, it was small and would blow itself out sooner rather than later.

Cassidy took up the lead, dragging her brother with her to scout out ahead of them. He kept himself close to his employer, they were in an open area and it would be difficult to tell where a threat to her could come from.

He realized the strangeness of it suddenly, being in the company of both a former employer and his current employer. It was often that when the contract changed hands, either his new employer or he killed his former one, and sometimes -but not often- it was under orders. It was easy to hate his employers, because most of them were bastards who only ever used him as a weapon. He couldn't seem to hate Cassidy though, because she'd only bought his contract to keep her friend safe. He had yet to decide his stance with his new employer though. She was quiet, young, and naïve, so it was unlikely that she'd settled into her role in the wasteland yet.

The Jefferson Memorial wasn't very far away, and they quickly came upon an area where they could see it. Cassidy brought out a pair of binoculars, looking over the situation laid out ahead of them.

"Lots of Super Mutants," She stated, handing off the binoculars. Butch was about to grab them, but Ella took them with ease and looked through.

"Five, it looks like."

"Yeah, I counted that many too. Any get close and Charon can get 'em. He's good at up-close stuff."

"Silencer?"

Cassidy opened up her bag and grabbed a silenced 10mm, unscrewing the silencer and handing it off to Ella. She grabbed her sniper rifle and screwed it onto the gun. He peered at her as she set herself up with her sniper rifle, then far off where the super mutants were, and there was no way she'd be able to make any shot with a sort of accuracy. Not with being blind in one eye.

Cassidy took control of the binoculars, then handed them off to him, "You might wanna watch this."

Butch huffed from the side as he brought the binoculars up to his eyes, if nothing else, it would help him to determine the incoming threat. He counted out the super mutants, there were indeed five, if there were none on the other side of the building.

The suppressed sound of the gun came to his ears almost the same second that a super mutants' head exploded. The others gathered around to wonder what had happened, since there were no apparent threats against them. The second one went down, then the third one before the last two realized that they were indeed being attacked, but those two went down before they could even decide which direction that they were coming from.

He lowered the binoculars, and looked down at his employer. He had greatly misjudged her abilities.

 

He hadn't seen someone such a natural with a sniper rifle in _years_.

 


	10. Elite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two Hundred and two years ago, Charon gets reassigned.

_Charon_

_-July 4th, 2075-_

 

He'd been reassigned, but he hadn't known to where and what reason there was for it. Of course there wasn't a whole lot for there to be different. He would still be a heavy gunner, and he would still be killing communists.

What he hadn't expected, was there to be familiar faces in his new team.

"Hey-o!" Rick yelled from across the empty canteen. Most of the soldiers were out celebrating the holiday, and it seemed his new team was using the time to themselves to hang around playing cards.

"I hadn't expected this," He told him as they bumped shoulders.

Rick smiled from ear to ear, "Didn't you hear? I'm a lieutenant now. Asked for your reassignment myself."

"Really now?"

"Of course. _Had_ to get the old crew back together. We've got a special mission, so I needed people I can trust, and who can I trust more than my boys?"

"Oh, and what's the mission?"

Rick flashed a menacing grin, it was a snarling smile of white teeth against dark skin, the same smile when they were teens before he'd convinced them to steal a new model Corvega for a joy ride.

He'd spent two weeks in juvie before being transferred out to a boot camp, and that was the last time he'd seen Rick these past ten years. If he was involved, and with a shark grin like that, he knew that this mission would be nothing but trouble, and he trembled with excitement.

"We're going to infiltrate a Chinese base. Hit 'em hard, get in, get our intel, and fuck off out of there!"

“What's the catch?” There was always a catch.

“The catch?” Another grin, “We're gunna get it done by the end of two weeks. Starting now.”

Rick carted him over to the table, the game had just finished and the deck was reshuffled. Another old face greeted him with a toothy smile.

"He keeps saying that we're going to be household names by the end of this," He said, "I don't know if I quite believe him."

"Ed," He grinned back, "Long time since I've seen your ugly mug."

Ed was tanned from the summer and had a full head of neatly combed black hair, thanks to his Italian roots. He shrugged, "Least I know you're still a liar. How's that little brother of yours?"

Rick groaned, and Ed must've only brought him up to get on Ricks' nerves. His kid brother had always been the annoying one who followed them around wherever they went, and their mother had forced him to drag him along. He was the only one to have gotten out of going to juvie for the joy ride, though, he had cried the whole way.

"Thinks the sun shines out of his ass now that he's published," He replied, "Mom thinks so too, can't stop tellin' me about how great his books are and how all the critics love him."

"Thanksgiving must be interesting at your house," They laughed.

"At least I have the holiday as an excuse to drink myself into a stupor."

"God, what I wouldn't give for a bourbon right now," Ed sighed.

Rick became all seriousness, "Well, you know me and Ed, Ed's our sniper, but I'd be surprised if you knew the others of our merry little suicide party. Poindexter over there is Lee Dawson, and don't worry, he ain't a communist. Or Chinese, apparently."

"I'm _half Japanese_ , _born_ in _Atlanta_ , just moved up to Boston. Rick and I are neighbors," Lee frowned at their commander, then leaned over to shake his hand, "I'm the mechanic working on everyone's power armor, and I'll be the one providing tech support and hacking throughout the mission."

"Hope you'll be able to find one in his size," Rick joked, then moved on, "Then here's Russell Jones, primarily functioning as our getaway driver, and Carmin Rivero, from the west coast. She's our second sniper, the best from across the country. You and I will be the up-close and personal guys."

"Small team," He noted, shaking hands with Russell and Carmin.

"Can't very well take an entire battalion with us. Only the best can tag along. You want a beer?"

"Yeah, sure."

Rick hopped away with surprising agility, weaving through the empty lunchroom. He was sitting next to Ed, and bumped shoulders with his long time friend, "So, you're a sniper now?"

"Yep."

"How good're you?"

"Best on the East Coast."

"Hum... if you're the best sniper on the East Coast, and Rivero is the best from the West Coast... I wonder which of you is better?" He smirked as the two snipers stared each other down in silent agreement of some type of showdown.

 

Only about ten minutes later were they in the training yard, a target set up at the far end. It was quite a considerable distance. They flipped a coin to see who would shoot first, and it ended up being Ed. He lined up his shot, and fired. Rick, with a pair of binoculars, called it.

"Bulls-eye."

Rivero snickered, "Watch this."

She walked across the range, and set a Nuka Cola a couple of feet in front of the target, then walked back to them. The rest of them looked on in wonder, as she lined up the shot. There'd be no way she'd be able to shoot the bottle and still get a bulls-eye, it was too low.

She fired.

Rick called it.

"Also a bulls-eye," He lowered his binoculars, "And she blew the cap right offa that cola."

Rivero walked back across the yard, grabbed the Nuka Cola, then chugged it, throwing it away as she walked back to them.

"Goddamn, I think she might be the best sniper in the _world,_ " Ed mumbled.

 


	11. Jefferson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group makes it to the Jefferson Memorial, and Cassidy recounts the reason she bought Charons' contract for Ella.

_Ella Rhodes_

_-September 28th, 2277-_

 

She lets go of the breath she was holding. All five of the super mutants are dead, and she looks with a smile to Cassidy only to find that she doesn't have the binoculars.

Ella hears the words fall from Charons' lips, "Bulls-eye."

It's simple, and yet it fills her up with pride and hope. Pride because she would never turn down praise, especially from someone who looks like they'd fought their way into Hell and back, the long way around, and hope because of something a little more complicated.

She'd read his contract, multiple times, as they had sat in the Muddy Rudder. It was faded, but no more faded than any number of the books she'd restored. And there, in the amendments, she saw it. How to release him from his contract, the only thing was that it made no sense what-so-ever. But still, she worried that maybe he didn't want to be free of his contract, because two hundred years was a long time (If the date on the contract was anything to go by), and he could've gotten used to being used as nothing more than a tool. He had said that he was unsure, and she'd taken that as him having already accepted it, even comfortable with it. There had been a strong possibility that he just didn't have free will anymore.

That utterance of one word changed that though. If he was bound to the contract, bound to her, a hundred percent, then he would have observed without any comment. There would have been no room for praise or disappointment in her, if he were utterly devoted to the page of faded words in her pocket. He didn't need to say it, he wasn't required to, but he had.

Freeing him wouldn't be such a waste of time, if he still had even an ounce of free will left in him. Cassidy began to make her way off of the ledge they'd been standing on, and Ella rushed to stand and put away her rifle so that they could move on. Butch traveled near his sister, and she followed after, knowing that even if Butch was pretty useless in a real battle, Cassidy would be able to take down anything waiting for them ahead. Beside her was Dogmeat, and behind them was Charon, his shotgun ready in his hands in case there should be trouble along their short walk over to the Jefferson Memorial.

They walked around the entire perimeter, finding only one visible way inside, and that was through the gift shop.

"What do you think's down there?" Butch asked.

"Probably more Super Mutants," His twin replied, "El, how do you want to do this?"

"Why are you asking me? _You're_ always the one with the battle plan."

"When?"

"Springvale."

"Oh yeah," Cassidy mumbled, "That was forever ago."

"That was two weeks ago," Ella replied, "It was the last haul we did before you went into Downtown"

"Also like, the only big haul we've ever done..." Cassidy sighed under her breath, but Ella heard it anyways, "Why don't we ask Charon? I mean, he's really old and has probably been doing this sort of thing for a really long time."

She turned to Charon, who had stayed quietly beside her throughout the conversation, and she began to pick her words out in her brain in a way that she wasn't commanding him to give them a strategy. The twins also turned to him expectantly, and he seemed to straighten under their combined scrutiny, which in some far off part of her mind was just hilariously ridiculous.

"It would depend on the layout of the building," He said simply and gruffly.

"All right," Cassidy sighed, "Who wants to go look in?"

"Not me," She said quickly, and Butch was slower.

"Well, then Charon has to do it," Butch smiled.

"Why?" Cassidy pushed him towards the entrance.

"'Cause he didn't say it!" He complained.

"He doesn't play that," Cassidy said, "And even if he were to join, first time is always free."

"Aw! C'mon!" Butch yelled, then squealed as his sister pinched him in the side, "I don't wanna go in there!"

"You don't _have_ to!" She huffed, "Just take a peek inside and tell us what the first room is like. Then we'll come up with a plan from there."

Butch grumbled, absolutely wanting nothing to do with this, "What if there's a guy guarding the door?"

"Super Mutants aren't _that_ smart," Cassidy laughed and pushed him, "Now _go_."

Her brother stumbled a little, then dusted himself off theatrically, and stepped up to the door. It creaked open slowly and he stuck his head in quickly. He ducked back out and quickly rejoined their group.

"It's just a really long hallway that slopes down a bit before leveling out again," He reported, "I couldn't see the end of it, but I think it branches off in two directions at the bottom."

"Any movement?"

"I heard them down there, but I didn't see anything. It was too dark to."

"How many do you think?" She asked.

"More'n two or three. Either that, or there's one Super Mutant down there _really_ good at holding a conversation with himself."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Cassidy huffed, "So, personally I would go in like we did Springvale. Line the hall with mines and lure them out, but what do you think Charon?"

He shifted uneasily as they all turned to him again. Ella held her tongue, waiting for Charon to speak on his own without giving him the order to do so.

"That," He said, "Or use grenades the lure them around the corner and bottleneck them. It is... _essentially_ the same plan, however."

"All right. We'll lay some mines and lure them out. If they're still alive, we can take 'em all out in the confusion."

They all snuck in, she, Charon, Dogmeat, and Butch stayed behind as Cassidy moved forward, keeping herself pressed against the wall as she traveled down the hallway. She snuck a look down at the crossroad, then laid and armed the mines before she came back to them.

"There's a door at the end of the hall, but it doesn't look like it opens," She said when she had returned, "And the left opening doesn't go anywhere, it's just an alcove with a couple of shelves. I couldn't count how many Muties there were, the doors that lead further in were closed."

"All right... so... how do you want to get their attention?" Ella asked.

Cassidy smirked and turned to Butch, "You remember the 'tin can incident'?"

His mischievous smirk matched his sisters', and Ella groaned. He disappeared through the doors outside again, and they waited.

 

When he came back a couple minutes later, he laid out all of the tools they'd be using. A nearly empty bottle of whiskey, a tin can, a piece of a lawnmower blade (Though she had no idea where Butch had managed to get that from), a box of Abraxo, a bottle of Med-X, and some duct tape.

She'd only heard about the 'tin can incident', because who hadn't heard it? Everyone in the Vault, no matter how far away from it, still had ringing in their ears up to a week later, and she knew, because her Dad and Jonas had needed the extra help in the clinic that week, so she had to abandon her usual work. Seeing it in motion was something entirely strange to her, and it didn't make any sense to her how these random ingredients would be able to produce that particular outcome.

They began to pile everything into the tin can, making sure that the Abraxo and the whiskey were well mixed. They left the Med-X for last, Butch holding it, ready to put it in, and Cassidy getting the duct tape ready.

"Wait, what about Dogmeat?" She interjected before Butch could drop the capsules in.

"What about Dogmeat?"

"Well... he can't cover his ears."

"Well," Cassidy said, "He can wait outside then... right?"

"By himself?"

"Someone could go with him," Butch said.

"Not it," Cassidy said immediately.

Ella had tried to say it quicker, but she had stumbled over her words. With a sigh she coaxed Dogmeat to the door.

Charon began to follow.

"Oh, wait," Cassidy said, "It would be much better if we had Charon to help us clear the monument."

"Oh... I.... Charon?"

"I will do as you command."

"Yeah, just command him to stay here and help us clear the monument," Butch said.

She turned away, she didn't want to look at anyone, least of all she wouldn't want to have looked at herself if she could have managed a mirror. She bit her lip.

"I... um... I want you to help Butch and Cassidy to clear the monument," She trembled.

"As you wish."

She opened the door and left as quickly as she possibly could. Her chest suddenly felt constricted, and she paced a bit to calm down before she finally sat, her back against the wall, and waited.

 

 

_Charon_

_-September 28th, 2277-_

 

The Med-X was dropped into the tin can, and Cassidy quickly taped it shut, then threw it as best she could over the mines that had already been laid out. The noise it generated started out as a low humming sound, which quickly escalated into a sharp wailing that could only be described as being like a hive of bees taking up residence in his skull.

He focused down the corridor, as shouting came closer in order to inspect what was going on, and the first Super Mutant rounded the corner. It was too far away for his shotgun, so he let Cassidy and Butch shoot at it with their pistols, pissing it off just enough to get it to run towards them – and straight into the mines.

Bits of his legs flew up past them, thick blood coated the walls around where the explosion had taken place, and what was left of the mutants' torso and head rolled a little ways back. But none of the other mines were triggered, thankfully.

Two more mutants made their way, the first one fell to a similar fate, but the second kept coming towards them, and right into range of his shotgun. One blast wasn't able to kill the mutant, but it was enough to knock it backwards a little, and fell right onto another mine. There was nothing left of that one except his head and an arm.

The Super Mutants kept coming, even after all the mines had been triggered, and when they were done clearing them all out, the floor of the hallway was slick and red with their blood. The three of them waited a few minutes, before heading down and into the gift shop proper. They searched around, but there were no more mutants. The twins searched through the upper levels, as he delved down into the lower ones. There was a mutant, and a couple of radroaches, but nothing he couldn't handle by himself.

His ears were still ringing when he came back to the Rotunda after clearing the lower levels. He'd grabbed anything that could even be construed as useful, even the holotapes and an old blanket. He didn't know why the holotapes were there, but he could at least preemptively gather anything that could be necessary to his employer and not have to scour through the building again. (And it was difficult to find good blankets in the wasteland, and somewhere in him he thought that Ella could use a good one.)

Charon had focused more on clearing the actual monument, and now that he was done, he had some time to reflect on what had happened. But what _had_ happened?

He knew it was likely that Cassidy knew the answer, since she was sulking on the Rotunda stairs. Butch was off doing something, and came back with some of the weapons from the Super Mutants and some things he'd found in the gift shop.

Charon was thankful that he didn't have to ask – because he didn't want to ask.

Butch instead stopped short of his sister, and frowned, "What's with the face, Cass?"

Her head fell against her knees as she screamed into them, "I'm so stupid!"

"What're you talking about?" Her twin asked.

"I'm _talking_ about _Charon_!" She groaned, standing from the stairs and stomping down to the ground floor. She kicked a Super Mutant Helmet across the catwalk in frustration, "I shouldn't have given her his contract!"

Butch peered between her, who had sat down on the last step of the stairs again, and then to Charon, "Why?"

Cassidy sighed, "Did Ella tell you about the Junkyard?"

"No."

She turned to him, expecting an answer from him as well, "No," He replied.

"It's the reason I bought the contract for her," She sighed, "Because I wanted her to be _safe_. We were out doing a job for the local crazy woman, Moira."

"Yeah, I met her," Butch replied.

Cassidy glared at him before continuing, "We were heading to this little place called Minefield. Obviously, to disarm and collect a bunch of mines for her. On our way there we found this Junkyard. It's where we found Dogmeat, but we passed through to Minefield. It was really late when we'd gone through all of the houses, so we holed up in one that was in the best shape."

She sighed and fingered something in her pocket nervously, she took it out, and handed a photograph to Butch. After peering at it, he handed it off to Charon.

He studied it. He hadn't seen an actual photo in probably a hundred years. It was grainy, but he could make out the faces of Cassidy and Ella, smiling brightly to the camera, with Dogmeat between them. His employer looked so much different, so carefree and without the scar.

He handed the photo back to Cassidy.

"That was maybe a month ago, month and a half? I don't remember. It was only an hour or two before we went back to the Junkyard. I wanted to go through and find some scraps to sell when we got back to Megaton. Dogmeat went with me, but Ella... Ella was just sitting at the edge of the Junkyard. The next thing I knew I heard screaming," She tensed beneath her armor, "I went and found where she'd dropped her sniper rifle, and used the scope to find her. There were six or seven of them."

"Who?"

" _Slavers,_ " She spat, "She was meant to be a slave, and they'd already marked her by the time I was able to start firing on them. A few of them were able to run out of my range, but at least I got them away. I shouldn't have left her by herself. She didn't even have Dogmeat with her... She's not a brawler sort of person, she can't handle herself in close quarters," She sighed, "She c _ouldn't_..."

Butch silently sat next to his sister.

But there was a white hot coal in his gut, and he quickly made his way out of the room and down the halls, back up to the door. Cassidy had talked about how she shouldn't have left Ella, well he shouldn't have left her side either. If he had known her history, his contract would have overridden her command to clear out the memorial in favor of her safety. She had already been marked by Slavers – Slavers that were still _alive_ – and that meant that she was still a target for them. And if they really wanted her, then they may have even taken to hiring some mercenaries.

He threw open the door, and searched for her, finding her not very far away, sitting and reading to Dogmeat from a little book as the mutts' head laid in her lap. His ears perked and turned to look at Charon as he approached them, Ella did too, then smiled and stood from her spot.

Charon breathed an internal sigh of relief that his employer was unharmed, she and the contract were safe, "We have cleared the memorial," He told her.

"Okay," She shifted nervously, "Where is Cassidy and Butch at?"

"In the Rotunda," He replied. She followed him back through, and by the time they made it to the Rotunda, Cassidy and Butch had already begun to go through the things they had collected.

Cassidys' eyes shifted between them, "There's a lot of holotapes left by James. They're labeled with dates that are fairly recent, so he _was_ here."

Ella hummed, "No other sign of him?"

"Just some empty cans of beans," Cassidy muttered, "But I think that maybe the last holotape at least would be able to give us some clue as to where he went."

James must have been the Doctor Rhodes that Cassidy had been asking about in Rivet City, Charon thought to himself. But who was this doctor? Why were they searching for him? Did he owe them money? He'd have to have owed them a lot if they were dealing with this much trouble, so he doubted it.

"Fine, let's play it," Ella smirked, "Whose are we using?"

"Not me," Cassidy said quickly. Butch swore.

They'd done that three times now, it was something like what he and his friends would do pre-war. But he hadn't seen anyone do it since, at least, not since the bombs had fallen.

"We can't use mine though," Butch said, "The player is broken."

Cassidy groaned and pulled open her backpack, dragging the contents out in search of something, "That's because you played Red Menace until the knobs fell off."

"It was almost done for when I got it, and Stanley wouldn't fix it for me."

She finally fished something out of the bag, and his eyes widened as he saw what it was. It was an _honest-to-God fucking_ _ **Pipboy**_. These people were goddamn _Vault Dwellers,_ and now their naïvety made much more sense to him. Cassidy shoved the holotape in, and it began to play.

 

Through the little speaker a mans' voice came through, " _I'm off to Vault One-Twelve to search for anything_ -"

"Turn it off," Ella said. Cassidy scrambled for the button, and ejected the holotape.

"El?"

"If he's in a Vault- then he's fine," She grumbled, dusting off her pants, turning and walking to the door of the Rotunda. He followed her, because of course he had to.

"But what about-?"

" _If he's in a Vault, then he's fine_ ," She said again, "Let's just get back to Megaton, before the rains start up."

 

They made a last sweep through the memorial, gathering what they could. When it turned out to be later than they'd initially thought, they camped out by the door, making a little campfire to heat up some cram and beans, and then slept just inside, with mines at the other end of the hallway, in case there was another exit that they'd overlooked.

 

In the morning, they set out for Megaton.

 


	12. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group returns to Megaton.

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-October 1st, 2277-_

 

They had just returned, after having stopped a few times to clear out a nearly empty shop here or there along the waterfront, and after a bit of scheming, she and Butch had quietly replaced the chems the raiders near the subway used with a homemade solution of Abraxo and dirty water. The raiders were all dead by the time they had picked up camp and gone through the next morning, looting their weapons, boots, jackets, helmets, gloves, armor, and food as they walked past.

Ella was nearly silent the whole way, and Charon never left her side for anything except to relieve himself while she was still with her and her brother. He even stayed close by whenever she needed to do the same, but with just enough distance and his back turned to allow her some privacy. Which she was glad of, of course, because that was what she wanted him to do, to watch her and make sure that nothing like the junkyard had ever happened again.

But now, shuffling through the gates, she didn't care about _anything_. She was cold and tired and hungry. However, there were a few people who weren't willing to just let her go off to rest. Namely, one Sheriff Simms.

"I... er... Hadn't expected you to bring even more new faces with you," The Sheriff said nervously, looking Charon over.

"Trust me, he'll be less trouble to you than half of the people who live here," Cassidy said, "He's El's bodyguard, so as long as Moriarty keeps his hands to himself, there won't be a problem. Make sure to tell that Irish bastard, or don't. I'd like to see his teeth get punched through the back of his skull."

Simms grumbled, still keeping a nervous eye on Charon. They were about to walk past, but he still had things to say apparently.

"There was one other thing I wanted to talk to you all about. I've taken a tally of every piece of food we have here in Megaton, and I don't think we'll have enough to last all Winter."

"Then just buy up everything the next caravan comes through."

"The caravans have probably already stopped for the year," He shifted, "It's unlikely there'll be any more coming through til Spring. And even if I had the power to ration things out, we'd still be under."

"So what do you want us to do about it?" Cassidy sighed. Ella was nearly falling asleep where she was standing, and was leaning heavily on Charon. He was tense under his armor, but Cassidy suspected that Ella wasn't even aware enough to notice.

"Just a heads up that you'll be on your own. Once the storms start rolling in, everyone is going to be a little less willing to sell their food off, no matter how many caps you have."

She grumbled, "All right, we'll think of something."

Simms tipped his hat and went about his way, and they were finally able to get to their house. Then she realized that they were two beds short. It was too late to go talk to Moira, and she was too tired to lug the mattresses over anyways.

"I'll take the couch tonight," She bumped shoulders with Butch, "I like Dogmeats' company more anyways."

He didn't argue, just said a sleepy "G'night," and trekked upstairs.

Ella disappeared upstairs, followed by Charon. Cassidy could hear a chair move slightly against the floor, and had to assume that Charon had planted himself near her door. She threw her bag on the ground and tossed herself onto the couch, Dogmeat curled up at the foot of it beside her.

 

 

_-October 2nd, 2277-_

 

Cassidy woke up earlier than everyone else had, except for maybe Charon, because she probably wouldn't have been able to tell either way, and Dogmeat woke up soon after her when she'd started moving. She rubbed her sore eyes and began to go through everything they'd acquired. It was quite a lot they'd been able to lug back. She'd already sold her excess stuff from Downtown D.C while she and Charon had been in Rivet City, so what they had left was from the memorial and on their way back.

She emptied out all of the food into their kitchen, it wasn't very much, not even enough to split between four people and a dog for a couple of weeks if they had rationed it. They needed to fix that, and quickly.

Then she went about repairing the weapons with whatever they'd gotten. She set aside the ones that they'd be using, and set the excess guns by the door with a box of parts as well. Ella came down looking for breakfast, with Charon following her, while she was sorting through the items of clothing they'd acquired.

"Hey, you need any of your guns repaired?" She tossed out as Ella went to the kitchen and began to scrutinize their supply.

"Yeah. It's upstairs. I've got some food in there too we need to sort out. I think Butch has a few boxes of Dandy Boys' stashed in his bag too."

"I'll grab his pack then, too," She said, leaving a boot near another that could almost be called its' pair, and made her way upstairs. She grabbed both packs and came down. Ella helped her empty the food into the kitchen, but it still wasn't enough.

"Do you want me to fix up your shotgun too, Charon?"

"I service my own weapon," He said.

She shrugged, "Fair enough."

Then she thought about just the words he'd used, and began laughing.

"What's so funny?" Ella asked.

"Nothing... you wouldn't get it," She wiped a tear from her eye, "Explaining it would just make it less funny."

"So, what are we going to do today? Especially about the food?"

Cassidy shrugged, "I was going to go see Moira first, then maybe see if she knows anyplace nearby we can scavenge."

Ella sighed, "It's as good a plan as any."

She finished fixing up all the weapons, sorting them by owner, and leaving the excess by the door, as she had before. Then she sorted through the pieces of gear. She'd need more water and more Abraxo, since they'd already used whatever they had in the Jefferson Memorial and to poison the raiders near the subway.

Cassidy became curious, and looked up towards Ella and Charon, who were splitting a box of something by the kitchen. His armor was _terrible_.

"Hey Charon, when's the last time you had your armor fixed up?"

Charon looked to her, then to Ella, then with a sigh to her again, "Five years, four months, twenty-two days."

"Shit," She grumbled, "All right. I'll fix up your armor for you, but you'll have to take it off."

Cassidy hadn't seen him take off his armor, ever. Not even when they were in Rivet City. He gave her a dry look.

"I do not wear anything under my armor."

Ella almost choked on a sip of Nuka-Cola, and struggled to not spit it out. She swallowed thickly and breathed raggedly, " _What?_ "

"I do not wear anything under my armor," He repeated for her.

" _Why?_ "

He was quiet for a moment, "I am not usually allowed extra clothing."

"Dude, your balls must sweat like a married womans' lover hiding from her husband," Butch said as he plopped downstairs, cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"Gross, Butch," Ella blushed.

He shrugged, "Just sayin'."

Cassidy turned back to Ella, "You wanna hit up Moira's shop with me? We could probably find something to fit Charon."

Still blushing, she turned to Charon, "Would you like some extra clothes?"

"My opinion does not matter in this circumstance."

"W-what?"

"My opinion does not matter in this circumstance," He repeated.

"Well, what about at the Memorial? You gave us your opinion there," Cassidy pointed out.

"Combat strategies are not a matter of opinion, in the terms of my contract."

Ella frowned, turning her eyes to the table, "Well... your opinion matters to me," She mumbled. Cassidy was just barely able to catch it, but there was no doubt in her mind that Charon had heard it, because he was sitting closely to her. Other than a quick glance to Ella though, it didn't seem like he had though.

" _Well_ ," She spoke up suddenly, wanting to break the tense conversation, "We should get him some clothes anyways, so that I can fix up his armor. And it can't be comfortable to sleep in that shit, even if he says he doesn't, and it's not like we'll be going anywhere once winter sets in."

"Yeah," Ella sighed softly, "Okay."

They piled their caps together, which turned out to be a lot more than she had expected, and they gathered the guns and parts and left for Moira's. Charon carried a good portion of what they couldn't, and Butch complained the whole way because he didn't want to go out shopping with them.

Moira was chipper as always, taking the guns and estimating out what they were worth. She had no food for sale, catching on quickly to Cassidy, but also wouldn't sell her any water. She didn't have any mattresses either, but said she'd let them know as soon as she got or found one.

They bought Charon some clothes, and although they were the biggest size that Moira had, Cassidy had her doubts that the shirt would fit him. The pants though looked like they were made for a _tank_.

There was also bars of soap and Abraxo to be bought, as well as ammo for their various guns, and Stimpaks to replenish their supply. After all was said and done, they'd cleared Moira out of most of her caps.

"There's a nice lady named Grandma Sparkles over on Wilhelms' Warf," Moira told them, "She sells Mirelurk cakes nearly year round."

"Thanks, but we're sort of looking for scavenging or hunting ourselves."

Moira gave a shrug, "You two cleared out the closest places to us, unless there's some secret stash or some secret pre-war bunker nearby... But that would be silly!" She laughed.

The only thing that would fit that description was the Vault, but Butch had already filled her in while they were in Rivet City everything that had gone on down there. If Amata was smart, she wouldn't open up the Vault or advertise that they had a hundred years or more of food backing them before Spring rolled around.

They left and stood together for a moment before Ella shrugged her shoulders, "There's still plenty of time to hunt before the weather changes, we can hunt Molerat, maybe make some jerky out of it."

"You know I hate eating Molerat," Cassidy complained.

"Better than eating Radroach," Butch said.

"You're such a baby," She growled at him.

"Both of you are," Ella sighed, her shoulders dropping a little with the exhale, "Meat's meat, as long as it's not humanoid, I don't care. And besides, there's always Molerats to the north of here, for some reason."

"Probably a whole nest'f 'em," Butch suggested.

"Ew,"

"If there is a nest, then good. It means that they'll keep repopulating."

"How is that good?" She asked Ella.

"They're easy to hunt."

"It's still kinda gross," She stuck her tongue out, then changed the subject from hunting to Charon, "Oh, but the men's restroom is up there. If it's anything like the women's restroom, there'll be a bathtub in it!"

She pulled out the new clothing and soap and dumped it into Charons' arms, "So just come back to the house when you're done washing up and I'll take care of that armor for ya!"

Charon stood there, clothes in hand. He did nothing but give a sidelong look to Ella.

Cassidy was quick to swoop in as Ella ignored the look, "It's not like she's going to be leaving Megaton. And if you get wounded because of your shitty armor, how are you supposed to protect her?"

He made an affirmative noise that could only be described as half-growl and half-grunt, then turned on his heel and walked towards the ramp that led up to the restroom. Once they heard the door close with a metallic jerk, Ella sighed, and they all turned and walked towards home.

 

Cassidy reorganized all of their packs for tomorrow, she and Ella had decided that it would be a good idea to scale that hill in front of Megaton, and use the scope of Ella's sniper rifle to scout out anything that could conceivably be both close-by and containing some amount of food. Then they'd go hunting. _For molerat_.

After packing their things up, she busied herself with making a _small_ lunch, which Butch had to look over her shoulder and complain with 'Is that all we're getting?'

She smacked him away, and she had just set the table when Charon had walked through the door. The pants had fit him well, but the shirt – her jaw nearly dropped. The plain shirt was tight against him, which wouldn't have been too bad since it was soft and stretchy enough to at least fit him without even showing a little bit of belly, but with the shirt being wet, it clung to every one of his muscles that he had been hiding beneath his armor.

She had never imagined herself being attracted to a ghoul, but now she had to re-think that stance. Peeking over at Ella nearly had her laughing, because Ella was as red as a tato and staring intently at the place on the table in front of her. At least she wasn't the only one affected by it.

"Pf- showoff," Butch scoffed quietly as the table was set, and Dogmeat was given a few scraps.

"Just put your armor over there on the couch, I'll get to it tonight. I'll need your boots too," She told him, trying to keep her eyes from his abdomen, and failing to.

Charon, thankfully, didn't seem to notice, and laid his armor across the arm of the couch, shucked his boots, and joined them at the table, next to Ella. They ate in near silence, listening to GNR quietly as they chewed. It was nice, and strangely domestic compared to everything they'd been through, and everything they'd probably be through in the future.

And of course, it was over too soon. She retreated to the couch to begin her work on the armor, dumping water and abraxo into her bucket, and not looking forward to trying to scrub out five years of bodily smells. Ella made her way upstairs to her room, Charon followed closely behind.

Butch heaved himself down into a chair in the corner, "Do you think El'll be okay?"

"She'll be fine," She replied, then threw one of Charons' boots at him, "Do me a favor and start scrubbing, yeah?"

 

 

_Ella Rhodes_

_-October 3rd, 2277-_

 

Ella brought down the gun with a sigh, "There's not really anything I can see. It's difficult to tell what's occupied and what isn't, and what might have food and what might not."

She could see every building from downtown DC to the overpass beyond the Springvale School, but nothing had really looked like anything other than old and ruined buildings that were crumbling.

She looked down from her spot, the others were maybe five or ten feet below her, as she sat on the top of the rocks, that gave her a good vantage point on even Megaton below her. It was easy to spot people going about their daily business through the scope of her rifle.

"I guess we'll have to go hunt molerat," Butch said, taking a puff of his cigarette.

"And hope we find a cache of food or something," Cassidy said.

They made their way around the walls of Megaton, but there was no sign of any molerats that were still alive. There were some teeth and pieces of skin and things like that laying around, but no molerats to shoot.

"Simms or Jericho must've gone hunting," She sighed.

"So what are we going to do now? We don't have anything planned for the rest of the day," Cassidy asked.

She thought of what they could possibly find that was close, but....

"Hey Charon?"

"Yes?"

Ella thought over her words carefully, "Are giant ants edible?"

"Yes."

She smiled from ear to ear, because it was just too easy to not pass up. Cassidys' head whipped around to glare at her, "Ella, no!"

She didn't listen and turned, walking back around the walls of Megaton and striding towards Springvale. Cassidy complained at her the entire way, not wanting to even try ant meat.

"Where's your sense of culinary adventure?" She asked with a grin.

"Molerat I can at least stomach, because we have to and it doesn't look weird, but _ant_?" She shouted, " _Who the fuck eats ant_?"

"We do," She replied, opening the doors to the school, "Tonight."

"You are _crazy_!"

 

Cassidy complained to her the whole way through the school, with Charon, Dogmeat, and Butch following all the way down to the locked door.

"Just unlock the door, please," She smiled to Cassidy.

The other girl 'humphed', but kneeled and took her bobby pins out. In a few quick movements, the door swung open.

"So... crowded tunnels, what's the plan?" Butch asked, eyeing the hole in the ground.

She turned to Charon, biting her lip and hoping that he'd have a suggestion. He stared at her a moment, and she stared back, mostly because this was the only time she'd gotten a good look at his eyes. His whites were now red almost all the way through, and his eyes were a hazy blue. It was the same with Gob, and Gob had told her that his eyes were brown before his ghoulification when she had asked. The hazy color was no indication of what was there previous.

His jaw tensed, "Only one person should have a gun," He said, "And that one will be the front assault. Everyone else should have melee, to avoid shooting each other."

She wasn't much good at frontal assault, so she pulled her bat out from her backpack, and Cassidy did the same. Butch pulled his knife out, and the two giggled at him.

"How the fuck are you going to stab an ant?"

He shrugged, "What? You have a better idea?"

"Well, it's your funeral."

"Charon..." Ella bit her lip, suddenly very aware of the situation, "Are you all right taking the lead?"

"If that is what you wish," He stared at her again, with the same expectant look as before. She'd read the contract, knew that he could follow vague suggestions. But underneath them, weren't they just the same as outright commands? It still didn't sit well with her.

"Be careful," She said finally.

"As you wish."

Once they were all ready, Charon led them down into the darkness of the tunnels. Flashlights and Pipboys were taken out of their packs and turned on. They didn't travel very far before her tall bodyguard began to fire off his shotgun, and anything that got past him, or dug in from the walls, was beaten and smashed by the rest of them. Dogmeat seemed to be everywhere at once though, barking gaily as he fought the enemies with gusto.

They ignored the corpses of the giant ants in favor of pushing through what tunnels they could, until they could go no further. The ants still came after them, coming up and down from the places that they couldn't reach, until nothing except their own heavy breathing could be heard throughout the cavern.

Knives were passed around and each one of they began their long work of cutting the meat away from the carcasses, hoping to get as much good meat as they could from the beasts. Ella counted them as they made their way back to the entrance and began to pack the huge amount of meat away in their bags.

Twenty-six or twenty-seven giant ants in total, and it had provided a fair amount of meat. So much so that she wasn't sure that they'd be able to use it all up in the next couple of days. They'd have to try to make their own jerky out of it- if they could. In better light the meat was strangely globular, but it would always beat out starving. She hoped.

They left the school, locking the door up again, and made it back to town very quickly and went about borrowing Jenny's stove at the Brass Lantern. She offered some pre-packaged food in exchange for the roasted ant and the ant stew that they'd whipped together, and even gave them tips on how to make jerky. Even if it might not work with ant meat, it was still worth a shot.

Cassidy stayed behind to watch over the cooking meat, and Butch stayed behind because he wanted to convince Jenny that getting a fashionable haircut wasn't a waste of time or caps. Dogmeat stayed because he wanted a few bites of the cooking meat, and there was a much better chance of him getting some if he sat in a corner and looked up to Cassidy with his big brown eyes.

Ella decided that it would probably just be best for her to leave though, there was nothing for her to do except to get in the way of everyone else in such a small space. She made her way back up to the house, with Charon following behind her.

She shed her armor, he shed his. It made her feel a little happier, knowing that he was now comfortable enough to not have the leathers on him all the time. Neither of them needed the extra protection in their own home.

Making her way upstairs and to her room, she sat heavily in her chair with a sigh. Subtle shifting behind her told her that Charon had resumed his position in his own chair just outside her door. All she wanted was a bath right about now, she hadn't had one since before she and Butch had left for Rivet City.

She pulled out her materials to begin her work, and flipped open the book that she had been restoring before leaving Megaton. Putting pen to paper, she began to slowly make her way through the first sentence, when she heard movement behind her again.

Ella turned around, spying Charon's face as he had turned in his chair to see what she was doing. His eyes were staring down at her desk with an almost quizzical look, then darted up to meet her eyes.

"Is something wrong?" She asked him.

"Nothing," He said in a low voice, then turned back around in his seat.

After a few moments she shrugged to herself and began her work again. Time had flown by while she was busily recreating the words and letters on the faded page, so much so that the door had nearly slammed open when she thought that no more than an hour had gone by.

"No Dogmeat, down!" She heard Cassidy from downstairs. She left the pages to dry, leaving her glasses on the desk, and ventured down to find that the twins had come back with a full pot of ant stew and a bag full of roasted and jerkied ant meat, and a good amount of pre-war boxes of food.

"Hey El'!" She called, having her brother set the pot onto the table, "A bunch'a people came out to have some of the stew for dinner, so they traded whatever they were going to have tonight for it. I was kind of worried about how it would come out, but like a third of that meat we had, a bit of whiskey, some noodles, tatoes, and crunchy mutfruit, and it's pretty good!"

"Well I'm glad. How much do we have left?"

"A good portion. I'd say we'd be able to eat it for breakfast in the morning, maybe even lunch if we ration it a bit. But the roasted ant should be able to last a little longer, and the jerkied ant will be good throughout winter, if it lasts that long."

"Are you two going to stop yappin' and eat or what?" Butch complained as he sat at the table, hungrily eyeing the pot.

They laughed at him, and served him last.

 

 

_-October 4th, 2277-_

 

Ella woke up suddenly, choking a little bit on her light snoring, to a strange and new sensation. She was _completely_ wet. Her first thought as she pulled the damp covers off of her that maybe the pipes in the Vault were leaking again, but then she realized how stupid that was quickly. She examined the ceiling to see that water was dripping it's way through the little holes above her.

Shivering she stood from her bed and changed into some dryer clothes. She opened her bedroom door, Charon was there, guarding it as always, even though she's told him every night that he can use her spare sleeping bag until they can get more beds. The top of his head and his shoulders were wet as well as the floor, covered in a light shine.

Wordlessly, she fumbled downstairs, her bodyguard standing and following her down. Instead of heading to the kitchen, she opens the front door.

Outside there is a thick curtain of water streaming down from the sky. She'd read about rain in the Vault, heard from Simms that the upper world still had them, but seeing it, hearing it, smelling it, was entirely different. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen.

She sat by the door, until Charon cleared his throat slightly.

Ella looked to him, "Something wrong?"

"What are you doing?" He asked her.

"I've never seen rain before," She replied truthfully, and turned back to watch the weather occurring outside.

After a little bit of time, a very wet, very unamused Cassidy came downstairs and sat with her. Then joined by Butch when he finally woke up from his place on the couch. Dogmeat was nearby, content with just being near his humans.

 

"We should probably grab some buckets," She suggested finally, "So our house doesn't flood."

 


	13. Amendments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella gets a box and a note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little more Charon and a little more Ella, and all the pre-slash fluffles that comes with it~

_Charon_

_-October 5th, 2277-_

 

They'd tried to cover nearly ever inch of the upstairs with things that could catch water, with little success. There were buckets, mugs, plates, glasses, pots, pans, even Nuka-Cola bottles, so crowded together that you could play bowling blindfolded. The only things they took downstairs with them were Ella's books.

It was late when they gave up and decided to eat dinner, which was the ant stew, since they'd been busy, there was still a lot left, and it was well past midnight before they had wanted to go to bed. Needless to say though, the three of them had decided to sleep downstairs, as it continued to rain through the night. They drew for who got the couch, even adding his name into the mix, but it had turned out to be Butch, who took the provided comfort with a thin mask of grace.

The two girls huddled near each other in their sleeping bags, with Dogmeat trying to worm his way in between them, with great success and many pets from them.

He sat himself in the corner, contemplating just how strange this group of kids were.

And they were kids. Cassidy and Butch may have been good in up close battle situations, and Ella may have been one of the best snipers he'd seen in a _very_ long time, but they were _children_. They didn't know their way around the wastes, didn't even know that they shouldn't have ever let their guard down in the first place. They didn't know what rain looked like, and he was certain that they'd have the same reaction when it would begin to snow.

They had enough knowledge to store their food, and enough income and willpower to keep their shelves stocked. They kept their guns and armor well maintained, and would come up with plans of attack before they charged into wherever they were going. And that had to account for something. Not many of even the most veteran of wastelanders had the presence of mind to do things like that.

 

Something still _irked_ him though, and that was the new owner of his contract – Ella. She and her friends may have been from a Vault and wouldn't exactly have their priorities straight, but restoring pre-war books?

That would have been the very last thing on any other persons' list, right after buying a Corvega and marrying a deathclaw.

_Like he had any room to talk though_ , he chided himself. He was the one who'd picked up that little reddish-brown book when they'd been walking through the school. The pages were too faded and not even the title was discernible. Just the authors' name. _Part_ of the authors' name.

...

Would she restore it if he asked? Probably. She was a weird one. But on some deep level he was afraid of showing it to her, not because he thought she would take it away, but because everything he'd ever had was always taken away from him. Everything except his armor and his shotgun. Everything else was free game, and he didn't even want to take the chance that she was not the person he thought she was.

It was too much of a risk anyways, the book was small, and the pages were falling out with just the barest of touches.

He wondered what the book was about, as he drifted in and out of sleep in his chair.

 

When the others had finally awoken, they'd had a ton of water, though obviously irradiated. The four of them ate breakfast, and the water was put away as best as could possibly be. The rain had settled for a light sprinkling outside, but the upstairs was still wet, with some of it dripping down onto the lower level.

"We're going to have to figure out how to fix up the roof," Ella sighed while sitting at the table. He was sat next to her, and Cassidy and Butch were on the couch.

"Yeah. I want my bed again," Cassidy sighed, sewing up a particularly large rip in a jacket she was trying to mend.

"I don't know if we'll be able to find more beds though," the owner of his contract said, chin in her palm and elbow against the table, "Moira was a little doubtful about even one more bed, let alone two. And even if we could, where would we put them? Down here in the living room?"

Cassidy grumbled, "These Megaton houses are just too small for our needs," She threw away the jacket and leaned back into the couch, "I wouldn't mind moving, but the only places I know of are Underworld and Rivet City. I don't think we'd have a particularly warm welcome from Underworld, and Rivet City is even more cramped than it is here. Not to mention most of the areas around it have already been picked clean a long time ago."

"The Underworld?" Butch asked lazily.

"Where I bought Charons' contract. It's a city of ghouls, and most of 'em were nice enough when I went there, but I was just passing through," Cassidy shrugged, "I miss that bed we slept in out in Minefield. Was probably the comfiest bed we ever had."

"Mm," Ella hummed in reply, "Besides the radroaches, the crazy sniper, and the twenty-something mines I had to disarm, it was a pretty nice place."

Cassidy's eyes widened, then narrowed, "Why don't we just move there?"

"Hm?" Ella looked up from her thoughts, "Well... Sure, but it's kind of out of the way."

"It's only a days walk between here and there. If we need to sell or trade, it would be an easy trip to come out and rent a room or something."

"The only person who rents rooms here is Moriarty."

"Didn't say it had to be you coming to trade."

"Whoa, hold up, where the fuck are you talking about?" Butch asked the two women.

"Minefield. It's up north," His twin replied, "We went out that way to scavenge. There were a lot of beds there that look like they haven't been used since before the war. Could figure out how to hook up a generator and get a stove running, there's plenty of them. An actual kitchen and bathroom to ourselves. All we'd really need to do is clean out a house and put up some defenses."

Ella stared dreamily towards the door, "It certainly sounds doable. I mean, between all of us."

Cassidy nodded, "We should totally do it. I mean, do you really wanna stay here forever?"

Ella shook her head, "I was actually thinking about that awhile ago, and no. I really don't."

"If anything, we can stay there a bit, and if it doesn't work out, we can come back here," Cassidy offered, "Then if we really want to move, all we'd have to do is find a different location."

"A'right," Butch snuffled, "But how are we going to carry all of this shit over there?"

"Well we don't need to take the beds or the couches or the chairs. There's some over there already. So I guess, the weapons and armor, food, water, El's books, the pots and pans and other kitchen stuff. I'm sure we can split all of that between us." She sprung up and looked through the lockers for the items that had been stashed in there.

"It wouldn't be good for us to leave _now_ ," Ella sighed, "It's still raining."

"Well, not as bad as it was yesterday, right?"

"It could start up again."

Charon felt the need to add to their small world view, "Mud will slow our speed by a considerable amount."

They all looked to him suddenly, almost as though he'd just appeared out of thin air.

"Does it?" Ella asked him.

"Yes," Was his quick response.

"Huh, okay," Cassidy hummed, "Well, I guess the next time it's dry and sunny out. Still... it would be good to pack all of our stuff now, so that we'll know just how much we can take. Then we'll be able to sell the excess to Moira, if we have to, way before we can go."

"I guess," Ella sighed.

 

They had dinner, and once again slept downstairs. They drew for the couch again, and Ella was the person who'd won it.

 

 

_Ella Rhodes_

_-October 8th, 2277-_

 

The upstairs was now mostly dry, but her bed was still a bit damp, so she slept on the downstairs floor again. She was actually looking forward to going out to the house in Minefield, even if it was only for a week or so. Cassidy had weighed everything out and had sold the excess to Moira, as she said she would.

Moira didn't have much in the way of caps, since they'd practically cleaned her out, but they traded for some medical supplies and a few armor pieces that Cassidy wanted to try her hand at improving.

The ground was nearly dry, and it was clear out, and Simms had told her that he estimated that it would be safe to travel again tomorrow, but was sorry to see them go. She reassured him that they were going to come back, even if it was only for trading.

When they'd all made it back to the house, she collapsed onto the couch, and only a few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Groaning, she took her time to stand and drug herself over the door and opened it to find a scrawny teenager with a box.

Ella couldn't tell if the kid was male or female, as their brown messy hair was cut short, and their dirty face had brown eyes, and had ears that stuck out a little.

"You Ella?" The kid asked.

"Yeah?"

They shoved the box into her arms, "This is for you."

"Oh, well, thank you. Come in?" She held the door open, and the kid looked at her strangely, before creeping in slowly.

She took the box and set it on the table. Opening it greeted her with a cache of food, neatly packed, with a folded note on top.

"What the fuck?" Cassidy came over and looked into the box, "Who would've given this to us?"

She opened the note, then wished she hadn't. Ella crumpled the piece of paper and stuffed it into her pocket. She grabbed her rifle and slung it over her shoulder, and was about to leave when she thought of something. Grabbing a box of Salisbury Steak, she handed it off to the kid who'd delivered it to them.

"I'll be back in a bit," She said to Cassidy before she walked out the door. She was outside of the Megaton gates when she realized that Charon was with her, but she didn't think that she'd be able to get rid of him anyways. It would have been nicer for him to have her back, just in case.

The two of them walked down and into Springvale, a familiar figure sitting on top of the Nuka-Cola machine. She could hear a noise come from Charon, but couldn't decide what the sound was exactly. They stopped when they came closer to the machine, and the figure languidly turned to her.

"Oh, good. You got my package. I won't have to shoot the kid," Her brother said, "Who's the ghoul?"

"This is Charon. He's my bodyguard," She told him mechanically, "Why did you send me that? I don't need help."

"Well, you're new out of the Vault. I thought you could use the extra food while you get on your feet. And it looks like you do need some help, you have him, don't you?"

"I don't need _your_ help, Jamie."

"You wound me," He mocked, grin on his face, "But at least you're calling me Jamie."

"Anything else would be an insult to Dad."

"Oh, I see how it is," Jamie smirked, "And your bodyguard there does too. Charon from the Underworld, right? I've heard of you. Thought about going off and buying your contract a few times. And you know what, El? He knows me, too."

She turned to Charon, but he wouldn't look at her. He was staring intently up at her brother.

Jamie continued, "He knows I'm a killer. He may not have a say in what he does, but as I've heard, he's got morals. He don't like wasteland assholes like me, and now he knows that you're my sister. _What must he think_?"

"Go _fuck_ yourself, Jamie," She said, turning and trekking away from the Red Rocket stop, "I don't _need_ your _help_. I don't _want_ your help. I don't _want_ to know you. I don't even _want_ to go talk to Dad."

She could hear Charons' heavy footsteps following her, and then heard Jamie jump down from the top of the soda machine, "Whoa, whoa Sis. Slow down. I'm just tryin' to talk. I mean, we haven't seen each other in years now."

" _You_ haven't seen me in years. I don't even _know_ you," She bit back. She didn't want to turn, because then she'd have to admit to even herself that her eyes were rimmed with tears.

"C'mon, that's a bit harsh."

"No, it _isn't_. Why would I want to even know the Capital Wastelands' biggest _asshole_?" She knew she was swearing too much, but she couldn't help it. She turned and kicked a loose rock in his direction.

"Apparently you've never met Eulogy Jones," Jamie replied, "But c'mon Ella, I've talked to Tenpenny, told 'im about you. You'd have a spot in the tower if you'd come with me. You wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again, I make enough money so that you wouldn't have to even think about whether or not you're going to be able to eat dinner. Well, you'd have to give Charon up, no ghouls in Tenpenny Tower, not that I _particularly_ have anything against them."

" _I bet Eulogy Jones never tried to blow up Megaton_ ," She muttered to herself, then continued in a louder voice so he could hear her, "I am _definitely_ not going to go to live with _you_ , and I'm definitely not going to go live with _Mr Tenpenny_. I don't need your help, and I don't need your food. So just _leave_."

" _Come on, Ella_. It's not everyday that someone gets _invited_ into Tenpenny Tower."

"Not with you," She stepped past Deputy Weld, and a shot echoed behind her. She turned to find Jamie had scrambled backwards. Stockholm gave a laugh from up above.

"What the fuck old man?" Jamie shouted up, getting to his feet and brushing off his pants.

"You're not welcome in Megaton!" Stockholm shouted back down, "So don't even try it! Else you'll be dancin' all the way down that road!"

"Ella!" Jamie called, ignoring Stockholm for a moment. She crossed his arms over her chest and waited for him to say whatever it was that he wanted to say, "Will you at least consider the offer?"

"No."

He frowned at her, "Fine, but you'll see someday. You think that Dad would want you out here like this?"

"I don't care what Dad would think. He's a hypocrite. He left me down in one-oh-one by myself. I woke up to sirens and people _shooting_ at me as I got run out of my _own home_. And _then_ he has the nerve to go off to some other Vault? His opinion of what I should or shouldn't do is the _last_ thing on my mind."

" _What_?" He chuffed in confusion, "What kind of _stupid_ reason would he have to leave a Vault for another one?"

"How should I know?" She answered, "He's off doing some _crazy_ thing he and mom had going before I was born. Apparently her _ghost_ is worth more to him than I am."

"Don't talk about mom that way," He said, frowning, "You didn't even _know_ her."

"No, I didn't. But I know enough about her from what Dad told me to know that she would have _never_ approved of what you do for a 'living' out here," And with that, she turned on her heel and walked into Megaton, ignoring his shouts following after her. Once the gates were shut, she could hear a few shots come from Stockholms' rifle, not doubt chasing Jamie down the road like he'd promised.

She came to the house, and Butch had already stuffed half of a box of Dandy Boy Apples into his mouth. Ella crossed the room quickly and took the no-named teenagers' sack from them, then filled it until it was overflowing before handing it back to the bewildered messenger.

Then she gabbed the box and hefted it out of the house, taking it with her down the path and she strided towards Simms' house.

"Ella?" Cassidy called, following after her, "What are you doing?"

"I don't want anything to do with this," She said, struggling up the hill to Simms' house. She kicked the door a little in lieu of knocking, and when the sheriff had come to his door, she dumped the box into his arms.

"Take it and distribute it to the town," Then she turned and left back to their house.

"Ella! Seriously? What is wrong with you?" Cassidy yelled as she continued to follow her around.

"Go ask Butch about Jamie," She scowled as she made her way up the stairs of their house, "I don't want to talk about it."

She closed her door, and sat on the bed. Sat there and listened to everything go on around her, the muffled conversation downstairs, Charon sitting in his usual spot, and Dogmeat whining at the door. Until she began to cry.

 

It was hours and hours later, and she woke to a completely dark room. She hadn't realized when she'd fallen asleep, she just knew that she'd cried for what felt like forever. It took a few moments of lying in bed, staring around her room, when a sudden dread of the dark crept around her.

Ella jumped up and fumbled around her desk, something pierced her skin, but she kept searching for her lantern and her little box of matches until she could get it lit. The room was empty of anyone except for her. Just her and her bleeding arm.

" _Damnit_ ," She sighed, mumbling to herself. She'd cut herself on the bent metal pen that Cassidy had found in a box of Walters' scrap, but she didn't have any medical supplies in her room. She'd have to go out to get them.

The door opened and she jumped, her heart racing as she turned to see who it was. It was Charon, who had preemptively grabbed the first aid kit and brought it to her.

She looked sheepishly between the cut she'd given herself and her big burly bodyguard, "It's um... was an accident... could you...?"

"Sit on the bed," He grumbled. She did as he had asked, and he pulled the desk chair over and sat in it quietly.

Charon cleaned out the wound and bound it, and she was a little surprised that he was so gentle with her.

"Sorry," She said suddenly.

He stopped his work and looked down at her, "For what?"

"For erhm.... dragging you into family stuff."

He grunted and began to work again.

"Is... is something wrong?"

"People wouldn't normally apologize for something like that," He replied.

"Oh..." She thought, "Well... In the Vault, whenever anything was wrong, you were supposed to keep it to yourself. We were taught if you were angry at someone, you should just internalize it in whichever way you wanted. And if you had a family fight, it wasn't anyone elses' business, so you shouldn't involve anyone else in it."

He grunted, "That's how it was before the war."

She looked up at him, surprised, "You're pre-war?"

"Yeah," He finished bandaging her, "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh," She burned internally with questions. Of course Ella had wanted to know what it was like before the bombs dropped, anything she could get her hands on was amazing to her, but most of the required reading in the Vault was classical literature, written hundreds of years before even the war, "Okay."

He got up and moved the chair back to its' original spot by the desk, and made to leave. She didn't want him to, not just yet.

"Charon?"

He turned back to her, "Yes?"

She fumbled with a reason for a few seconds, "Do you want to be free of the contract?" She settled for asking again. It'd been a little over a week, if he had thought about the question at all, he might've had an answer by now.

"No," He said, simply. His eyes stared intently at her, not moving away from her gaze like they usually would, "Not with you as its' holder."

"I don't know whether to laugh or to cry," She smiled to herself.

"Neither, preferably."

She chuckled, she couldn't help it, "Sorry."

"Why?"

"It's just... it seems kind of backwards, because I'm obviously not going to outlive you."

"Humor me then."

She shifted uncomfortably, then stood and pulled her jacket from off of the desk and opened up the little journal she'd been so lucky to find. Unfolding the contract, she began to read from the amendments at the bottom.

" _Should 'subject' wish to exit the service of this contract, 'subject' must enter into a new contract of 'subject's own volition. Should the contract holder interfere by forcing 'subject' into a new contract, or keeping 'subject' from entering a new contract, his service would revert back to the terms of the original contract_ ," She read from it, "I... I didn't know what it meant, but I thought, maybe you would?"

He shifted and frowned, "I think I know."

She folded his contract and placed it carefully back into her journal, before replacing it in its' spot in her jacket.

"Goodnight, Charon."

"Goodnight, Miss Ella," He replied, shutting the door behind him.

She felt a little more secure now, and doused the light and returned to her bed.

 


	14. Another Day In The Neighborhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group moves to Minefield, and Jamie finds James.

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-October 9th, 2277-_

 

They woke up early and had a small breakfast before sleepily shouldering their packs and leaving Megaton. They made good time, as they reached the river in only a couple hours after setting out, and scrambled over the fallen bridge as they had before.

Cassidy mentally checked off the landmarks they'd come across on their trip before; the copper pools, the destroyed neighborhood, that tree on the hill just before the junkyard. They paused at the crest, and she took up her binoculars to see the little group below them. Ella took up her sniper.

“Who are they?” She directed the question at Ella, hoping she wouldn't have to ask if they were the same slavers as before.

Ella lowered the gun, laying it flat, “I don't know. I don't think they're raiders though.”

Cassidy grumbled, “Slavers?”

“No, I don't think so,” Ella replied.

They ended up waiting for the group to pass, instead of either greeting them or shooting them. It took about another two hours before the wastelanders and their brahmin were out of their visual range before they stood and descended. From there it was only a little bit of time before they got to Minefield.

It was just as they had left it. Empty. Which was good, because it meant that nobody had tried to go through or take up residence in the nearly whole houses. There would be much less of a chance that they'd be bothered, even if the winter wasn't upcoming. It was after midday when they shouldered their way into the old house at the end of the street and dropped their bags by the door. Her brother whistled as he inspected the crumbling interior.

“If this were the Vault, they'd be able to get three families in here no problem.”

“Well, it's a good thing we're not in the Vault,” She replied to him.

Everything had been left the way it was when they'd left, so it was easy to pick over what they hadn't gone through the first time. Between all of them, though Charon seemed a little more surly about having to do such things, they cleared out the house of all the obviously broken furniture. By that time though, it was nearly dark, and they rushed to bring in another bed in, managing it well before midnight.

It was meant to be a bed for Charon, even if it was kind of small. But he didn't use it. She heard him heave a chair from downstairs up into the hallway, and sat himself there as she and Ella tucked themselves into the queen size bed in the master bedroom. Butch had the bed in the other bedroom, made up for a child.

 

In the morning she sat up and stretched, having had the best sleep since she was a child. They congregated in the kitchen, the chairs were rickety, but it was nice to sit together for breakfast in an actual kitchen. There'd have to be a lot more to do today; they needed to clear the rest of the house, and go through the other houses for anything they'd missed their first time through. She was also going to see about if they'd be able to get the stove working again, for it was likely that there was a generator in one of these other houses that they could patch up. Maybe the refrigerator as well, if she was feeling particularly up to the challenge.

There was also a big water tower that looked to be intact on top of the hill, which Ella had wanted to check out, and see just how irradiated the water was. If there was a ladder that reached the top, it would also make a good lookout point so that they can check on what buildings are closest to them. For now though, they had enough on their plate before having to go out and look for more trouble to deal with.

Ella finished her breakfast early, and left, Charon following after her immediately. The front door opened and shut, and only then did Butch lean across the table.

“So, are we just not going to find her dad anymore?”

She sighed, “I guess so.”

 

 

_James Rhodes Jr_

_-October 12th, 2277-_

 

Jamie stumbled away from the shack door, feeling his head continue to spin as he fell to his knees in a daze. Unless Dad was a _lunatic_ , he wasn't here. He rolled onto his back and gasped the sweet fresh air – or as sweet and as fresh as air in the Capital Wasteland could be.

_Fuck Vault 106_. He hadn't known what was real down there and what _wasn't_. He'd shot to kill anything that moved, but he didn't actually know if any of what he'd seen down there was _real_. He knew some of it wasn't, because there was his father, over and over again, his mother, as he'd remembered her, and skeletons wearing the faces of people he'd killed like masks. What did all of that mean? He didn't want to know, and he shouldn't care enough to _want_ to know either.

He gagged a little, and turned on his side in case he needed to puke, but he wasn't quite there yet, and the fresh air was helping settle his stomach. If his and Ella's father was in there, then he could die in there, because he sure as hell wasn't going to go back in for _anyone_. Even if their mother had come back from the dead, he still wouldn't have gone. He groaned and pulled out the map from his pocket, and rolled it out on the ground.

He lifted himself up, and bent over the map, and marked off the Vault he was at, and tried to best determine which one he'd go to next.

“Well, might as well get this all over with,” He grumbled, stuffing the map back into his pocket and struggling to his feet.

 

 

_Charon_

_-October 15th, 2277-_

 

It had rained off and on during the past week, but the house had yet to leak with the exception of one spot, which now almost always had a bucket under it. Today was one of the rare days since they'd arrived in Minefield where it wasn't raining or muddy, so Ella had taken it upon herself to climb the hill and sit on the cliff's edge. He sat nearby, where he knew that he was on solid ground and close enough to pull her away from the edge should it start to crumble.

Ella surveyed all that was before her. Even downtown DC was visible from this vantage point, he could clearly see the Washington Monument, standing against the painted orange sky. He reflected briefly on just how different things had been for him almost a month ago. His nights of bouncing at the Ninth Circle and the high buildings poking between the tightly crowded mutant-infested streets were replaced by the mundane domestic and the wide empty plains of the Capital Wasteland.

It wasn't worse. It wasn't better either. It didn't really matter, not unless or until he was free of the contract, that fine print was hard to get around though.

There was slight movement below them that jolted him out of his thoughts, and his hand went instantly for his gun. Ella's gentle hand slid over his and paused his movements.

“It's just the kid,” She whispered, turning back to looking around them.

He looked back down to where the movement was, the little figure below them moving through the little neighborhood, and slipped into one of the other houses.

“Which kid?” He couldn't help but ask.

“The one my brother sent with that box of food,” She replied with a sigh, “I haven't decided if I think it's funny or weird yet that they followed us this far out.”

He hummed to let her know that he'd heard.

She shifted uncomfortably.

“I'm sorry,” She began, “About my brother.”

He turned to look at her for a brief moment, turning away when she turned to look at him. They hadn't talked much since he'd bandaged her hand, and it was weird that she was apologizing now, and for that reason, and to him.

“You know, I don't really know him,” She said, looking back over the landscape before them, “My dad- our father never spoke about him. I only met him a couple of weeks ago for the first time.”

He made an affirmative noise – for her own benefit.

“Do you think-?” She paused, then shook her head, “No, it's stupid.”

He continued to stay silent, hoping that she would change her mind and ask the question. Then he wondered to himself why he would hope that she would ask him a question. It was stupid. He was stupid. She was the owner of his contract, there was no reason that he'd form an attachment to her, even after only a couple of weeks now. He shouldn't get attached to her, because he didn't know how long she'd last out here in the wasteland, or if she'd decide to sell his contract, or if she would make a turn in her own morality. He couldn't abide that in his mind.

What was strange was that he didn't think that she would, and that was the really stupid part of it all. It was incredibly stupid for him to try to impose his own hopes or expectations on her, even in his own thoughts.

She turned her face towards him, but her eyes remained on the wasteland ahead of them, “Do you think that I'll turn out like him?”

He shifted uneasily, “No.” It was more of a hope for him, rather than him actually knowing, and he prayed that his voice didn't betray him in that.

She turned away, her eyes still peering out away from them, “Do you think that -” She sighed, “Do you think that I should feel bad about yelling at him? I don't, but I'm afraid that I should.”

“No,” He was a bit nervous about talking about this, but he felt he must go on, even if it was worse to speak his mind about the subject of family. He was probably the last person on the planet who should be giving familial advice, “You have the right to do as you wish, with no concern as to what others want for you or what others think of you.”

She hummed, he didn't know if she actually heard his response or if she was just keeping up appearances that they were having a conversation. In either case, that was the end of that conversation.

“I've been having strange dreams lately,” She paused, “I don't know what to make of them.”

He stayed silent. He had no experience with talking with others about dreams, and he knew that there were people who were violently attached to their own beliefs of what dreams meant or could do. It was never a topic he'd liked to discuss, in his childhood home, there'd always been differing opinions between him and the rest of his family.

Ella stood suddenly though, he followed swiftly after her, “Let's go say hi to our new neighbor.”

 

They walked around the cliffs and back down to Minefield carefully and as quietly as they could. Ella had spotted a Yao Guai with her sniper scope on her trip to the top of the water tower, which he had to explain to her that was what it was called and it wasn't just a 'big old monster rad beast'. It was decided to avoid it the best they could, until or unless they needed the meat.

She came to a stop at where the kid had taken up their residence, and knocked on the door. He thought briefly about securing the perimeter, but the windows in every house were boarded up anyways. After a handful of minutes, the door creaked open, and the kids' dirty face peeked around the corner.

“You hungry?” Ella asked the teenager, to which they nodded quickly, “Well c'mon. You can bunk up with us if you want. It's not like there's anyone else out here.”

The teen disappeared to grab their pack and followed he and Ella back to the house. Cassidy was currently trying her hand at making a chili (She'd found a recipe for it in a pre-war cookbook that Ella had restored) with some fried mashed cram, a can of beans, cut up tatoes, and some radroach meat for it's distinctive peppery taste. It certainly smelled close to what he remembered chili smelling like, but there was two centuries between him now and him then, so he couldn't rely on those faded memories.

Cassidy didn't say anything, just grabbed another bowl for their new guest, which made him think that she knew that the kid had followed them as well. Butch came in and sat across from the teen as they wolfed down their first helping of chili. The rest of them ate at a more sedated pace, with exception of Dogmeat.

“Are you a boy, or a girl?” Butch asked, mouth half full of food. Ella sighed, and the man received a smack from his twin.

“ _That's rude_ ,” She hissed at him.

“What?” He shrugged, “I just wanted to know.”

The kid shrugged, “Does it matter though?”

“Well, yeah. Doesn't it?”

“But does it though?” The kid replied.

“What's your name, at least?” He countered.

“Watson.”

“That's not a name.”

“Yes it is,” Watson replied, “It's a family name.”

“I was asking about your first name.”

“Why does that matter? I go by Watson anyways.”

Butch grumbled, and they ate the rest of their dinner in peace. The upstairs bathroom had been cleared of all it's porcelain furniture days ago, to make room for whatever they had decided to use it for at a later date, so they took the extra bed from what was now Butch's room and put it into that bathroom. It was small, but Watson didn't have much in the way of items. If there was a need for more space later on, they'd think of something. They always did.

 

He sat in the hallway, listening to the other occupants of the house snoring away, each one distinct from each other. It was quiet here, and all he had were his thoughts and the snores coming from the rooms around him. He didn't like being alone with his thoughts, it was possibly the only good thing about working for Ahzrukhal, or anyone before now, not having the time nor the quietness around him to think.

But even though he hated this particularly, he couldn't say that he didn't prefer it over the last two hundred years. Give or take a few years that he'd forgotten about.

 

 

_James Rhodes Jr_

_-October 17th, 2277-_

 

He quickly cleared out a place of some molerats that tended on the smaller side, and began to make up a little campfire in the little garage so that he could roast one up on a spit for dinner. He'd been circling around this area for the past day and a half, looking for a Vault that he'd heard years ago was hidden around here or something. It wasn't on his map, but it was much closer than any of the others Vaults had been, so he decided that any lead was better than nothing.

The weather had been miserable, going between raining and muddy, and cold and foggy. In all rights he should be back at Tenpenny Tower, where it was nice and warm and his comfortable bed awaited him.

But his last little bit of conscience nagged at him from the back of his brain. He couldn't enjoy a nice warm bed as long as he had to find his father. Although, his father by himself was not enough for him to want to scour the wasteland and ignore his home; it was because he needed his father to talk some sense into Ella. She was his baby sister, and wasn't he supposed to be watching out for her? Especially if their own _father_ wasn't going to.

He wondered if the elder James would be able to convince her that she should come and be safe in Tenpenny Tower, but knowing him, he'd more likely try to convince her to live with him in Rivet City, or try to talk her into going back into the Vault.

Before making up his little campfire for dinner, he went through every inch of the garage for anything he could take with him or sell. A few extra caps couldn't hurt, especially with this wild goose chase that he was on. He might as well get something out of it.

Jamie prided himself on knowing when there was a secret afoot, so he was particularly pleased when he noticed that part of the floor was not as it should be, and used a wall panel to open it up. A pre-war bunker, and if he was lucky, then it's builder hadn't made it when the bombs had dropped, so the loot would still be intact.

There was no such luck though, because as he ventured in, he saw that it was that damned Vault that he'd been looking for. Vault 112, with it's painted yellow numbers faded and chipped to the point he could have barely made them out if he hadn't known that they'd be printed on the door. How was this place so secretly concealed? And furthermore, how had anyone ever known of its' existence (Let alone his father, who even as he was growing up, was sheltered from the wasteland)?

He delved into the Vault, no one around but a rolling brain in a jar accosting him for not putting on a Vault Suit. In the pit of that place he found a huge chamber filled with pods, he'd seen some like them before, but these ones were larger, more skewed towards long-term utility rather than for commercial use. He took his time inspecting each of the pods, until he finally found his father, lying in one.

Why would he be here? In this place? Knowing him it was related to his research (Of course), he'd done a lot of shit things as a parent in the name of science. (He'd also done a lot of shit things as a parent in general though. So, why was he here again? Oh right, Ella.)

Jamie tried tapping on the console beside his pod for awhile, but he was never good with computers. He couldn't hack a turret if his life was on the line. He got frustrated to the point that one of the motorized minds came around and talked with him for a bit.

The only way to release his father was through the Overseer's permission, and the Overseer was inside the simulation. So, all he had to do was go into the simulation in one of the empty pods and get the Overseer to release him. Sounded easy enough.

He laid down in the simulation pod and let the robot hook him in. For minutes after the procedure started his vision was blurred and he could feel his heartbeat in his ears. Then suddenly, he was standing on the sidewalk of a nearly empty street.

It was a small neighborhood, like the ones in pictures of pre-war, perfect little houses, sitting in a row. Green everywhere, like he'd never seen before. The only thing that could come close to that color were the radstorms, but this was different in a way. He couldn't figure out how though. He came to the nearest person and questioned them, but they would only point towards the playground in the middle of the little cul-de-sac. The little girl playing there greeted him, and introduced herself as Betty and demanded the he play with her.

He had to think this was probably the Overseer, so he did what she asked him to do. Scare a kid? No problem. Break up a marriage? No problem. Put on a mask and kill everyone here in cold blood? That's what he did best.

Betty did what was promised (Though it freaked Jamie out when 'her' voice suddenly changed), and he was released from the simulation. His lungs burned, though he couldn't imagine why. It was probably because of the pre-war machines, but it wasn't like he'd ever know if that was true.

The pod hissed open around him, and he heard a second one initiate, indicating that Betty had kept 'her' end of the bargain. He left the seat of the pod as quickly as he could, it was weird, because now that he was out, none of that had felt real. Or about as real as a dream.

“Junior?” His father greeted him, “What are you- I wasn't expecting you.”

“Who were you expecting?” He answered back.

“No one, really. I thought that I'd be there for awhile. But it's a good thing that you're here, I could really use your help with the Project,” Of course he'd be Dr Rhodes before he'd be his father, that was just like him.

“Ella-”

“Is safe in the Vault,” He cut away, “But the project can't wait.”

“No,” He grabbed his father by the arm as he tried to pass. He was taller and stronger than him now, “Ella's _not_ in the Vault. I've seen her. I've talked with her.”

“What?” His father became angry, “Where is she? She shouldn't have left the Vault!”

“She's in Megaton, safe. For now. I wanted you to talk her into staying with me in Tenpenny Tower.”

“Talk her into living with you? Why would I do that? Rivet City would be safe for her.”

“ _She'd be safer in Tenpenny Tower_ ,” He said, “ _Do you think she'd really be happy in some cramped place like Rivet City_?”

“She's used to it,” His father replied, “She wouldn't know what to do in such a large open space.”

He groaned, “I think you severely underestimate what she would and wouldn't know how to do. Barely out of the Vault and she's got herself a big ol' ghoul bodyguard.”

“A _ghoul_ for a bodyguard?” _Here we go_ , “Ghouls wouldn't make very good bodyguards, they're ravaged on a cellular level. And what if he were to go feral? And what if he's taking advantage of her in return for his services? Hadn't you ever thought of that? You can't trust the bodyguards of the wasteland.”

“You haven't seen this ghoul,” Jamie sighed, “Even I know about him. He's pre-war military or something. Under a contract so he has to do exactly what she says. If anyone is taking advantage of anyone, it's certainly not him taking advantage of her.”

“What are you _saying_? That's ridiculous, she's a Chaplain.”

“I know she wouldn't, that's why I'm _saying_ it. It's ridiculous and it wouldn't happen. Trust me.” Though, he hadn't know that she was a Chaplain.

His father grumbled, “It's still not right. He could turn feral at any time.”

“After two hundred years, I dunno. Seems unlikely he'd turn feral _now_.”

He grunted, even he (The 'patient' doctor), was sick of having the conversation echo against the walls of the empty Vault, “Let's just get to Megaton.”

 


	15. A Doctor, A Mercenary, and A Sheriff walk into a Bar...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Jamie head to Megaton to meet Ella, but find that they have more travelling to do. James and Charon meet, neither are much impressed.

_James Rhodes Jr_

_-October 18th, 2277-_

 

They'd grumpily spent the rest of the night eating molerat in the garage, and in the morning they set out with a light drizzle overhead, the sky above them was tinged green. With any luck, it wouldn't turn into a full on radstorm before they could get over to Megaton.

They walked quietly, though for a brief few minutes he pointed out where Tenpenny Tower was on the horizon to the South of them, and told him a little bit about living there. The people were a little stuck up, but there was plenty of food, plenty of protection, and plenty of 'society', as Tenpenny called it.

Ella wouldn't want for much while she was there, and while he held the job that he did, and he told his father so.

“And what is it that you do?” He asked as they walked.

“Mercenary. Only work I'm good at.”

“A _mercenary_ , you? Your mother would be so disappointed.”

“I'm aware of that. Not all of us can be _righteous_ and _benevolent_ scientists.”

His father grunted, and they continued on their journey in silence for awhile. The sky didn't do much but spit out little droplets of water here and there, and for that he was thankful. They had to stop a few times, so that his father could catch his breath, but they made good time coming back just because of how well he knew how to get to Megaton.

Halfway up the hill to Megaton he stopped and put his hands in the air, looking primarily to Stockholm above the gate, leveling his sniper at him. His father noticed and stopped as well.

“What are you doing?”

“I'm not allowed back in and I don't feel like getting shot today.”

His father looked between the gates and him a few times, then he noticed the sentinel at the top of the gate, “Why aren't you allowed into Megaton?”

“Almost blew them up. But hey, it was supposed to be a good pay.”

“Supposed to be?”

“Well yeah. Obviously Megaton is still standing, couldn't very well blow it up with Ella living here. That and she cut the wires too short when she disarmed it.”

“She's a good kid, but she shouldn't have taken such a risk.”

Jamie groaned at him, and was about to retort, but Megatons' beloved Sheriff came out, rifle in hand, to meet them.

“I could just go in by myself, and you could wait here.”

“And let you bully Ella into doing what you want to do?”

“I don't _bully_ her,” He replied, “She's a good person, she just doesn't know much about the Capital Wasteland.”

“I bet she knows more than you.”

Before his father could reply, Sheriff Simms approached, “What are you doing here? _Again_?”

“Just here to see Ella.”

“You know you're not allowed in.”

“Then tell her to come out, just so we can talk.”

“Can't do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because she isn't here.”

“What?” His father gasped.

“Where is she then?” He asked.

The Sheriff shrugged, “Some place called Minefield, is all I know. And I'm only telling you that because you're her family, and not likely to go sell her off to slavers.”

“Where's Minefield?” His father asked the Sheriff, “Does it have good defenses?”

Simms shrugged, “I wouldn't know. But Moira knows where it is. Could point it out to you on a map.”

“Then let me in, so I can ask her.”

“No.”

He grumbled, “At least so that I can stay at the Saloon. There's a radstorm developing.”

“Then go stay in Springvale,” Simms said, “It isn't my problem.”

“You of all people should know that there's no place to stay in Springvale.”

“The school.”

“I'd have to clear all those motherfuckers out of it first.”

“Ella already did.”

“Wait, what?” His father was now interested, “Ella cleared a raider camp?”

“Yeah. She and her pal Cassidy. And that dog of theirs too. It was before that other kid and that ghoul joined up with them.”

His father turned to him, “You never told me that there were people with her _other_ than the ghoul.”

He shrugged, “What does it matter?”

He turned back to the Sheriff, “Well, how well trained is this Cassidy woman?”

Simms shrugged, “She was from the Vault too.”

His father groaned, “You don't mean Cassidy _DeLoria_ , do you?”

“Yeah, that was her name. Her brother came out of the Vault later.”

Another groan from him, “Cassidy _and_ Butch? She can't be in her right mind if she's in a group with _them_.”

The sheriff raised an eyebrow, “From what I've seen, I thought that they were pretty good friends. I mean, they all lived together here, and they all moved out to Minefield together.”

“Definitely not in her right mind.”

“What's the big fuckin' deal?” He asked his father.

“The big 'fucking' deal is that the DeLoria twins are bad influences. They're nothing but _trouble_.”

“I think the people of Megaton think differently about that. Not many people know Butch very well, but Cassidy fixed up a bunch of armor we had stored away, and went Downtown for Ella. I mean, you can't really get past that.”

“Went to Downtown DC? For Ella?” His father asked incredulously, “What could she possibly need in Downtown? That place is a death trap!”

“Moriarty told 'em both that you went down there to see Three Dog,” Simms shrugged, “It was only logical that they'd go there to find out where you went, right? After that, Ella and Butch went out to Rivet City, and they all came back with Ella's bodyguard. Charon, I think his name was.”

He grumbled, it was getting darker and the clouds above them were becoming a little more green. He didn't want to go sleep in the school, raider holes were usually the filthiest of all the places in the wastelands of America.

“I'll give you five hundred caps to let me stay the night, and stock up with Moira.”

“Bribing me now?”

“Five hundred....” He thought for a moment, what would he accept? “To distribute among the people of Megaton.”

Simms narrowed his eyes slightly, “A thousand.”

“C'mon.... Seven hundred?”

“Nine.”

He grumbled, “I'll go to eight hundred.”

“Fine, but I see you off at Moriarty's, then in the morning, I'll escort you out.”

“Fair enough,” He fished around his pack for his cap purse, and deposited it straight into Simms' hands. It could have a little more than eight hundred in it, but he wasn't about to count it all out.

The sheriff pocketed the money and led them through the gates. Their first visit was to Moira, she reminded him a bit of his late wife, though Moira had red hair, as opposed to his Kelley, who was as blonde as their daughter.

Though, he didn't want to think about his daughter. She hadn't come up in conversation with Ella, but maybe he should have mentioned her? It would be nice for the kid to have a maternal figure in her life, and who better than her Aunt? He was less enthused about having his father involved in her life, and was determined to keep a lid on it now that he was found. He'd only have forced his way into her life and would've tried to guilt him into letting him 'parent' her while he was gone on business.

He wouldn't do that.

She marked where Minefield was (Or where it should be by her approximation) on his little beat up map, and he dropped a considerable amount of money restocking on stimpaks and med-x. Then it was off to see Moriarty, who he'd thankfully never met before. If he had, he probably would've shot him in the face eighteen years ago.

“A Doctor, a Mercenary, and a Sheriff all walk into a bar...” He said to greet them, finding himself more charming than the rest of them did.

Moriarty was friendly with his father and the Sheriff, though the good Dr Rhodes was stiff and forced a smile for the old bar owner. Jamie couldn't help but noticed the fearful glance from his bar tender to the old man, or the ghouls' bruised and swollen eye.

Ghouls didn't bruise very easily, and from his estimation, Gob had a broken eye socket. A stimpak would heal it over a day or two, but from the damage that was still prevalent and the color of the bruising, it looked like he hadn't taken one, or hadn't been allowed one.

Moriarty took a few minutes to drag his father back to his back room, to 'talk about old times' or something like that. Once they were semi-alone, the ghoul bartender talked to him.

“You're Ella's brother right?”

He nodded.

“When you see her, tell her I said hi.”

“She a friend?”

“Yeah, something like that. She doesn't – or _didn't_ – come out to the saloon very often. Moriarty,” A fearful glance towards the back room, “Moriarty freaked her out.”

“Freaked her out? How?”

“Well, he erm... made certain unwanted _advances_. Is all I'm going to say,” Gob said.

“Mm,” He hummed into his vodka, “Is that why she doesn't know about him beating the shit out of you?”

Gob looked surprised for a second, “Well, yeah. But why would you know that she didn't know?”

“She would've done something,” He replied.

Gob sighed, “I don't think that she'd have been able to do anything about it. Maybe tried to pay off my debt, but Moriarty keeps increasing it. Compound interest, or something.”

“Mm,” He mumbled, “She would've tried? I didn't know she had any money.”

“She's got loads of it. Now at least. Cassidy cleared out all of Moira's caps by selling a bunch of fixed up gear. They had been pretty good about keeping Jenny down at the Brass Lantern stocked with fresh meat, they're always hunting molerat. And Ella went and re-inked a bunch of books, even refused payment from Mother Maya, because she was trying to give Ella everything she'd had in her purse.”

“I didn't know any of that. Did she and that Cassidy girl really go and clear out the raiders in Springvale?”

“Yeah,” Gob said, “A good thing too, we got a few caravans through before the weather turned. I dunno if we would've made it through the winter without. Still didn't think so, up until they left the town with a big box of food.”

He chuckled, “A big box of food, huh?”

Gob nodded, and was about to say something else, but the door to the backroom opened and the two older men came back to the bar. The ghoul promptly shut his mouth and was silent for the rest of the night. It was a shame too, because he wanted to know when and how she'd gotten that scar he'd seen, but he couldn't tell at the time he'd seen her how old it was.

They (had to) share a room, and Simms went on his way after making sure that he knew that the bomb and the bar were both being watched. It wouldn't have helped him or Megaton anyways, if he were inclined to complete that old job.

His father snored away, but he stayed awake for maybe an hour or so thinking (or not being able to get to sleep because of the noise). A troubling thought, but one that he had anyways was 'what would Ella have done?'

He wasn't Ella though, so he'd take his own measures when it came to what he was pondering.

 

In the morning he stretched and packed. His father talked with Moriarty, a bit more cheerfully than last night, and he wondered how he could stand the Irish bastard. He was the self-proclaimed 'biggest asshole of the Capital Wasteland', and even he hated Moriarty.

Maybe Ella was rubbing off on him, just a little. Or maybe it was because Gob's face looked even more messed up than it had the night previously. He may have been an asshole merc, but one thing he could not abide by was slavers, and Moriarty may have hid behind that Gob and Nova had owed him money, but his actions against them had said it all.

He wondered what he could do though, thinking about the layout of Megaton and its' escape routes. There'd be no way that he'd be able to kill Moriarty and make a clean getaway. There was... one alternative. He'd thought about it briefly when he'd first been assigned to blow up Megaton, but it was too risky for himself, so he had opted to go out and dig up a bunch of manuals and study them. That took _forever_. But the first option, it could work with this.

They said goodbye and made their way out of Megaton. Simms watched them off, and when they finally got down to the edge of Springvale, he turned to his father.

“I have to go do something really quick,” He said.

“Ugh, I thought you'd already gone?”

“Something else,” He replied as he made his way up the road and around to the tall copse of rocks.

Looking down into Megaton with the scope of his rarely used sniper rifle revealed every person, going about their business. He searched out for the Saloon, and it was his lucky day, for Moriarty was taking his morning smoke outside.

The shot echoed, and he checked through his scope to make sure that he'd hit his mark, finding Moriarty motionless on the ground. He stood and shouldered his rifle and backtracked as quickly as he could before Stockholm could spot him. He practically ran down the road to where his father was fiddling with his stupid pip-boy he continued to insist on wearing, and they left with no further hold ups.

He cast a glance back towards Megaton every once in awhile to make sure no one was following him.

 

 

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-October 20th, 2277-_

 

“Okay, now we have to cross the blue and the red wires,” She instructed from the military handbook, Butch was beside her covered in grease and not too happy about it.

“You sure this is going to work?”

“Not really,” She replied, “That's why we're _trying_.”

Her brother looked up from the turret that'd been giving them trouble for the past three and a half days, “Why can't we just line the streets with mines, like it used to be?”

“Because,” She replied, gesturing back to the half-built turret, “This would be more reliable, and less likely to kill us.”

“So why do I have to do it?”

She sighed, “Well, you should be useful for _something_. Mechanics are easy, when you have the booklet.”

“But I'm not an engineer, I'm a barber,” He replied grumpily.

“Well, do you see people linin' up for a haircut? No? Then we're doin' this.”

He grumbled, “Who're they?”

She looked up, and fumbled with the binoculars she had by her side. They were close enough to make out their figures, so they weren't terribly far away to begin with. She groaned when she recognized one of them as Dr Rhodes.

“Ugh! The Nerd Patrol is here,” She handed the binoculars off to her brother, “Is that Ella's brother?”

He looked through and mumbled, “Yeah. That's him all right.”

Cassidy stood and dusted off her pants, “We should go warn Ella.”

The two ahead of them were picking up their pace, so they went immediately to the house. Ella was sitting on the couch they'd pulled into the house from another, catching up on sorting if the books in front of her were saveable or not. Watson sat beside her, reading a Grognak. Charon was sitting in 'his' chair in the corner, as still as a statue.

“I thought you two were-”

“Incoming,” She sighed as she interrupted Ella. Butch practically threw himself into one of the other armchairs, and Cassidy sat in her matching one.

Charon stiffened and stood, shotgun at the ready.

“No, big guy,” She soothed, “Not that sort of incoming. A whole other goddamn mess.”

He hesitated and sat. The front door opened, and Ella peered across their living room as Dr Rhodes came through the door. Ella stood immediately, a look of shock and questioning on her face.

Her father crossed the room and drew her into his arms, “Oh, Ella! You're safe.”

She didn't embrace him back. Her brother came through and rolled his eyes, before taking a space up against a wall. Charon shifted uneasily in his chair.

“Thank goodness I found you, honey,” Dr Rhodes said as he stepped away from her slightly, “But, oh, my dear, that scar you have!”

“It's... erm... it's all right,” She mumbled, strangely stiff in front of him. Charon seemed to pick up on her nervousness and stood from his chair, becoming a looming threat to anyone who would ever think to be against Ella.

Her father noticed him immediately, “So, this must be that ghoul bodyguard that Junior told me about.”

'Junior', rolled his eyes, and sighing, he sat on the couch where Ella had previously occupied. He looked as though he wanted to be anywhere else in that exact moment.

“Well, yeah,” Ella said, looking strangely between her father and her brother, “Why?”

Dr Rhodes was about to say something, but Jamie interrupted him, “He _hates_ ghouls.”

“I don't _hate_ ghouls,” Their father turned to him with a stern look.

Jamie turned to Ella, an almost sarcastic look on his face, “Actually, yeah. He doesn't hate ghouls, he _really_ hates ghouls.”

“That's not true either,” Dr Rhodes sighed, “You can't trust ghouls. At any moment a ghoul could turn feral.”

“What?” She asked, from Cassidys' position Ella clearly wasn't buying it, “I don't know how ghouls turn feral, but, to treat any of the differently because of it? They're people too.”

“I know they're people too,” He replied, “It's just that getting more radiation in their systems, eating or drinking something irradiated or being too close to a bad spot, could turn them.”

“That can't be right,” Ella turned to Charon, “That's not how ferals are made, is it?”

Charon was currently giving a hard look at Dr Rhodes, “No one knows how ghouls turn feral.”

The scientist became offended and defensive, “You don't _look_ like a scientist, so if I were you, I wouldn't be making such broad _assumptions_.”

“Pft,” Jamie snorted, “And like you'd know? You can't even be in the same room with a ghoul long enough to ask their name, let alone study anything about them.”

“I don't need to have done studies to know the dangers.”

“I've lived a very long time,” Charon said, “And I've known a lot of people who were much smarter than I am, and definitely a lot smarter than you are. And two hundred years later, _no one_ knows.”

Dr Rhodes humphed, and was about to say something, but then Ella interrupted him, “Dad, please leave.”

“What?”

“I don't want to talk about this, and I already know why Jamie brought you here, to convince me to go live with him. He thinks I'll be safer cooped up in some tower, and I know you think I'll be safer cooped up in some Vault. I hated it in that Vault, and you knew that, and you still left me down there.” She shook her head, “I don't want to just listen to you and what _you_ think is best for me. I'm _nineteen_ , you can't just _decide_ what I'll do and where I go anymore.”

Dr Rhodes huffed and was about to respond, but Jamie grabbed him by the arm, “C'mon, let's find one of the other houses to bunk in,” And then nearly dragged him out of the house.

She sighed and stood from her chair, “Well, I guess we'll be going back outside to work on the turret.”

She grabbed her brother and hauled him out. Minutes later she saw Watson emerge from the house with the bucket they'd been using to collect water from the intact tower on the top of the hill, and headed in the direction of the path up the cliffs.

 

 

_Ella Rhodes_

_-October 20th, 2277-_

 

She sighed and sat on the couch as Watson went about gathering the bucket when she'd asked the kid to fetch some water. They didn't need the water, they had already collected a good amount of water that morning. Charon returned to his seat.

Ella bit her lip nervously, “I... When you said that... you've known people, who were smarter than you and smarter than my Dad... you were talking about someone specifically, weren't you?”

His eyes were steady as he looked at her, “Yes.”

“Would you... I mean, if I asked you about them, would you _want_ to tell me?”

“No.”

“Why not?” She asked.

“Because he was my friend.”


	16. The Day Everything Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charon remembers when the bombs dropped, and when his skin started to fall off.

_Charon_

_-October 23rd, 2077-_

 

His hands twitched uncontrollably, his 'employer' lay dead on the floor, blood seeping out of him at an alarming rate. He looked to the man who had shot the holder of his contract, the attackers' hands shaking too. He couldn't have prevented this, and he was happy that he couldn't have.

“You have to take the contract,” He told him.

“Wha-?” His friend breathed, dropping the gun and looking around erratically until he found the pristine piece of paper. It was there, folded neatly in the hands of Lee Dawson. His friend was only the second to ever hold it. He looked through it quickly, running his hands through his hair shakily.

“I... I don't understand any of this...” Lee had to sit down. No sooner than that had happened, the sirens in the bunker had started to go off, indicating something was wrong. Very wrong. The sirens _never_ went off.

Lee jumped from his chair and went to the screens at the other side of the room. There were terminals and television alike, and it was easy to flip to the local channel.

It was a nuclear strike. It was everywhere. New York and Pennsylvania had already been hit. Before the anchor could go on with what he was saying, the room shook violently around them. Suddenly, the terminals, the television, the lights, everything shut off. He was thrown to the ground by the continued tremors, and he couldn't see where Lee was, but he could hear his labored breathing.

 

It seemed like hours later when the shaking finally stopped, but he thought he could still hear things that he shouldn't have been able to. Buildings breaking apart, the screams of millions of people close by. It was impossible that he should be able to hear that though all that rock, steel, and concrete that separated them from the outside world.

He stood in the darkness, and he listened to Lee regaining his footing, “Okay, well. I assume this is a bunker to survive this type of thing?”

“Yes,” He replied simply.

“ _Fantastic_ ,” Lee groaned, “Is there a backup generator?”

“Yeah, it's this way,” He grabbed him by the arm and led him through the compound, ignoring the body of General Coombs.

 

- _October 24, 2077_ -

 

The backup generators had been repaired, and the electricity had been turned back on, but the terminal _refused_ to return to life. Unfazed by it, Lee took stock of the bunker, and checked the equipment that was still functioning enough to let him know just how irradiated it was outside. There was no hope for anyone who couldn't find safety, and no hope for anyone who wasn't shielded from the fallout like they had been.

They sat in the canteen, meant to hold fifteen, but just holding two who sat across from each other, perfectly still. He'd wanted to talk, but for the past day, there was so much to do in the bunker that they'd hardly had time to sleep and eat, let alone talk. And something in that contract – something about it – it made him wary about what he should say.

He pressed forward anyways, “How did you find me?”

They were drinking beer, Lee took a big swig before answering, “It was easy – well, after I finally _caught_ your trail. It was all hush-hush, not much in the way of a paper trail, but I had a few friends who read a few strange interactions on a superiors' terminal, or heard something they weren't supposed to.”

“I thought-” He couldn't find the right words, “I thought no one would come looking for me.”

Lee shrugged, “The rest of them probably wouldn't, Everyone thinks your dead, you know. They even sent a coffin back. Closed casket funeral and everything. Full honors”

“So, how did you know that I wasn't?” He asked.

“Your mother,” He replied, “When we got the box, she never believed it was you. Said the box was too small to be for you. Nobody else really paid any mind to it, but it got me thinking about it. You were the biggest goddamn man I'd ever outfitted in Power Armor, there'd be no way your casket would be that small unless they blew your legs off, and even then, I don't think they would've gotten your shoulders to fit in it either. I looked into it when I could.”

“Thank you,” He said.

“You're very welcome. Couldn't exactly send you up shit creek, you know? I already read all the briefings about- about what they _did_ to you...”

“What – what did they do to me? I- I don't remember much.”

“John,” Lee paused, “I don't think you want to know.”

“What about the mission? I don't remember much of that either.”

“You don't want to know that either,” Lee sighed, rubbed his face, then explained, “Russell died, and we had to make a run for that forest nearby... you stayed behind to fend them off, don't you remember?”

“I remember that, I don't know what happened after. Or how we were ambushed in the first place.”

“There was some sort of leak. Nobody knows where or how, but there was. They said that they were looking into it, but we never heard anything else after that. After you were captured, we stayed for three days hiding from the communists. Rivero was injured, and when we finally got an extraction, we took her and left. But Rick stayed behind to look for you. A sniper patrol found your body first, allegedly, and sent you on back first, then found Rick a couple days later. When he and that casket of yours came back, it was so strange. Rick was so different,” Lee sighed, “But you were best friends, weren't you? We all mourn in different ways.”

He didn't want to talk about it anymore. He didn't want to think about Rick or Ed or Rivero or his mother or his brother being caught out in the bombings. A thought occurred to him, “Don't you have a family? Back in Boston, or something?”

“Yeah,” Lee sighed, “Who would've thought that Armageddon would have happened today of all days? I certainly didn't. We have a spot in some local Vault up there, I'm sure they made it, it wasn't very far from where we live... _lived_.”

He hummed in thought, and when Charon didn't respond to him, he changed the topic again, “I was thinking mac n' cheese tonight. Maybe some InstaMash too. I mean, might as well eat like kings since there's enough food here to last a hundred years.”

 

- _February 21st, 2078_ -

 

A month ago, Lee had gotten sick, and the only medicine in the entire bunker was in a safe that was locked by terminal. Neither of them knew how to lockpick the damn thing, so it was entirely hopeless to try to force it open. Not even he could get it to unlock, and there was no key for it. So, he'd decided – or, his contract demanded (even though he would've anyways), to venture out of the bunker and into the harsh wastes looking for anything that could cure Lee.

It was chaos above ground. Black clouds hung low in the sky, almost like a fog. All the greenery the area had once had, was stripped from it. Worst of all was the smell.

He ignored it and ventured forward with uncertainty, all he had to do was find a hospital. Hell, he'd even take a close-by house with a stimpak in it's first aid kit. It wasn't that simple though, the bunker had been built in an out of the way location.

So he walked. And walked.

Lights shone softly in some boarded up places, which he avoided. There was no telling what the shock of having the world end could do to someone psychologically, and the contract demanded to keep the secret military bunker a secret, in case anyone should try their hand at murdering Lee in his weakened state.

Later on, leaving the base would be one of the biggest regrets of his goddamn life. He'd found medicine, all right, he'd pillaged some almost-intact pharmacy, and brought back everything he could. Lee would be fine.

He, on the other hand, was _losing_ his _skin_.

It seemed to slide and drip off of him, and the pain of it, oh god was it painful. His stomach was constantly in knots, he could barely eat and drink. Sometimes his vision would blur, but then the next day it would be fine. Not that he knew as the time passed, Lee kept him strung out on Med-X enough to not feel most of the pain.

Then, he woke up, and he felt much better. Not the greatest he'd ever felt in his life – he didn't think that he'd ever feel that way again, not after everything he'd been though. But waking up felt – almost nice. Like his skin turning to pudding was just a bad nightmare.

Lee was surprised when he'd come to check on him to see that he was still even alive, and revealed to him what had happened. He broke the mirror. He broke the dresser. He broke just about half the plates in the canteen, as well as upending a barrel full of empty beer bottles, just to hear them smash against the ground.

When he was done with his little tantrum, Lee sat next to him on the couch, both of them not speaking at all. Thousands of questions burned on his tongue, but he just couldn't find the energy to ask them. Lee did the best he could with checking him out, even tested combinations of drugs to see if anything could help heal him, but the damage seemed to be permanent. There was nothing he could do to help him.

He wrote everything he ever learned down about the condition. Lee, though not a doctor, was very thorough in whatever he did, and took as many notes as he possibly could. He also tested everything he could even think of. Bioscanners before and after being exposed to small amounts of extra radiation, tests with irradiated food and water, strength and stamina tests with some of the gym equipment that had been down in the bunker. Everything.

Nothing seemed to change.

So they were eating, when Lee said, “Hey, let's go out and find a Hospital. I mean, you can't be the only one with this condition, right?”

So they packed up a few days worth of supplies, and left the bunker.

 


	17. Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group all checks out a nearby Power Station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may have noticed from the recent string of updates, this is part of my "I completed five chapters in two days so I've got one hell of a buffer now" update dump. :P

_Ella Rhodes_

_-October 20th, 2277-_

 

It was dark and well past when everyone should be asleep when there was a knock on the door. Ella couldn't bring herself to go upstairs, she didn't feel tired, so she heard it. She had a feeling it was either her dad or Jamie, but she could recognize her dads' knocking from when she'd grown up, and this was heavier sounding, so it had to be Jamie. She grabbed her pistol just in case though.

She let her brother in, and sighed as she sat back on the couch. Only Charon was awake and downstairs with her, and they sat together quietly in the dark. Jamie showed off a bottle of brown-gold liquid, it glinted in the small light of the lamp.

“Thought you could use a drink,” He said, producing glasses and pouring her one, then one for Charon, shoving it into both their hands without even asking if they'd want to partake, “I know I sure as hell need a couple.”

He downed his first glass and poured himself another. Ella took small drinks, she didn't really like the taste of alcohol, but she drank anyways. It was something she needed right now.

“You okay, El?”

She hummed, mesmerized by the liquid in her glass, and not seeming to be able to take her eyes off of it, “Not really.”

“Sorry. I didn't think he'd get like that. I shoulda known better.”

“Mm,” She mumbled as she drank, “I grew up with him and I never thought he was like that. He was always so thoughtful and... he listened to all of my problems, no matter how dumb they were. But he was never like that.”

Her brother had a half smile on his face as he stared off at the wall, “You were lucky then. He was worse when I was a kid.”

“Worse?”

He hummed and nodded, “He was always so paranoid. I didn't understand it, as a kid when your parents do something, it's never really that strange, is it? But he was just so drunk all the time, so drunk that as soon as he'd come back to wherever it was that we were staying, he'd pass out immediately. The only person I really knew was Mom, and when she got pregnant with you, he promised he'd quit drinking, change his ways, all of that.”

“And?”

“And he did. So after Mom died, and he had this great idea to take us to some Vault, 'where it would be safer for baby Ella', all I could think about was that maybe I wasn't a good enough kid. He changed everything about him, and did everything that he did for you. For baby Ella. Hurts, you know? So I left. That, and I didn't want to be stuck in some bunker with him for the rest of my life. I hardly even knew him, so why would I?”

She stayed silent, fiddling with her glass. It was hard for her to imagine all of that, but at the same time, their father was acting just as Jamie had described – paranoid. Even as he had stood in the house, safe and protected, he had still looked around in a shifty way, like if anything were to happen he could jump out of the situation and make himself scarce with ease.

“It's like...” She started, “It's like him in the Vault is completely different from him out here. I don't know what to think about him anymore.”

Jamie hummed, throwing back another drink and refilling her glass. Charon hadn't taken any of his own drink, so Jamie let him be.

“Could you...” She paused, “Could you tell me about Mom?”

Jamies' eyes flicked between her and Charon for a brief moment before he grunted an affirmative and sat up straighter in his chair, “You look a lot like her. A lot like her in action too, I think. She was always ready to help somebody out, and always had a big smile. What she saw in our father, I'll never understand.”

Ella sighed, “But at least she did, right?”

He chuckled, “I guess so. Else neither of us would be here.”

She laughed with him, not quite used to the alcohol and feeling a little more relaxed than she had just a little while ago.

After their laughter subsided, Jamie fiddled with his glass, “Why'd you leave Megaton?”

She shrugged, “Roof doesn't leak here.”

Jamie gave a half laugh, “That's not a very good reason.”

“Kind of is,” She sighed, “But I didn't really want to be just a short walk away from the Vault. It just feels... I don't know... _wrong_ to just settle down into the first place I get to...”

Jamie hummed into his glass, mulling it over, “I getcha. So you're just hopping from place to place to see where you fit in the best?”

“That wasn't the plan _exactly_ , but I guess that's what I'm doing, right?”

“Seems like it,” He sighed, “Maybe now you'll consider coming with me to Tenpenny Tower?”

She shook her head, “I don't know. It's just that... I've heard things about the tower, on the radio. They don't even let ghouls in?”

“No. Not my choice though,” He shrugged, “I got nothin' personal against any of 'em. Except maybe Crowley, he's an asshat. Whenever he's around, everyone else is always magically a ghoul hater. A fucking backstabbing bigot, is what he is.”

He cleared his throat and shifted nervously, “Not the point though, I guess.”

She hummed, finally getting enough courage to throw back her shot. Jamie refilled her glass, and she took it a bit quicker than the sipping she'd done before, but she didn't down it immediately. The bottle was empty quickly.

“Where'd you get this stuff, anyways?”

“Pawed it from that guy Moriarty,”

She laughed in her drink, “He's not going to like that.”

“Oh, I'm sure he wouldn't.”

She raised her eyebrow at him, “Wouldn't?”

“Mm. Kinda strange, he caught a bullet with his face just a little after I left Megaton. Should'a told him before I left it's dangerous to do that sort of shit, catching bullets.”

She stared at him, and put her drink down on the coffee table, “I think you should go.”

“I heard you didn't like the guy.”

“I didn't, but that's no reason to kill 'im.”

He rolled his eyes at her, standing from his seat, “You know, I didn't do it for you,” He said as he was at the door to the living room, “That friend of yours, Gob, wouldn't even let you know that he owed Moriarty money, 'cause he knew that you'd try to repay his debt. He weren't ever going to let that ghoul go, you know. Had too much fun using him as a punching bag.”

Jamie stomped away, and shut the door of the house behind him. Ella didn't rise from the couch to go lock the door, she just stared ahead at the glass she'd set down.

 

 

_-October 21st, 2277-_

 

She didn't remember falling asleep – or passing out – and she didn't remember crying, but her sore and swollen eyes told her otherwise. She also hadn't remembered getting up to get this blanket that she was wrapped in.

“Mornin' Sunshine,” Butch yawned as he came in and left a plate of fried cram and dandy boy apples in front of her, “Thanks for sharing.”

“Wasn't mine to share,” She grumbled and pulled the blanket up over her head, the light that was making its' way through the gaps of the boards felt like a thousand needles boring themselves into her eyes.

She tried to lay there to sleep the rest of her hangover off, but Dogmeat wasn't having any of it. He kept forcing his head under her blankets and under her hand, wanting pets, and pushing his cold nose into her side, until she finally sat up.

Ella watched as Charon got up from his chair – the same one he'd been in last night, so she was sure that he hadn't moved at all – and crossed the room and disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later (Of which she spent that time giving Dogmeat the affection that he desperately wanted), he came back with a glass of reddish liquid, and handed it off to her.

She eyed it, not knowing exactly what it was.

“It will help with the headache,” He said, as he sat back down.

She shrugged to herself and took a big gulp of it – and nearly spit it out. If she thought that the alcohol last night tasted terrible, then she owed it a fucking _apology_. But at least Charon was right, it did help with her headache, if only because it distracted her by how terrible it tasted. She trusted Charon though, and if he thought that it would cure her hangover, than she would take it, so she downed the rest of it as quickly as she could with a wince.

After it was all down, she did have to admit to herself that it did clear her head a little, and her eyes didn't feel like they were on fire anymore. She tucked into her fried cram and apples, before Dogmeat could try to take a bite for himself.

Cassidy came in and made herself comfortable next to her, kicking her shoe-less feet up onto the coffee table, “The turrets' going to need a new circuit board.”

She thought over what they had – sluggishly – and couldn't recall them ever picking one up, “We don't have any.”

“I know we don't have any. I thought maybe we could go check out that power station over the hill, past the water tower.”

She hummed, knowing that she'd spotted it easily, even before she had climbed the water tower. It was the closest thing they had to them, so it would've been an easy jaunt over, “Sure. Haven't seen anything over in that area except a few radroaches, so it's unlikely to be a raider hideout.”

Cassidy nodded, “Should be pretty easy to clear out then, huh?”

Watson, though usually silent, tripped slightly over their shoe laces as they were going up the stairs, Ella couldn't help but ask the kid, “You good with a gun?”

Watson looked down from over the staircase railing, nose scrunching, “Yeah, a little. Better with a knife though.”

“We're going to go clear a place out, probably today,” Cassidy said, shrugging and continuing more in Ella's direction, “I mean, might as well make it today. Not like Butch and I can really get anything done without some scrap.”

“I thought you were going to try to fix up the fridge?” She asked, “You said you wanted cold beer and nuka.”

“I said I wanted _fucking_ cold beer and nuka,” Cassidy smiled, “Cold and _fucking_ cold are two different things, but I don't really think that the generator we have'll be able to handle both the fridge and the stove and the turret without overcharging itself out.”

She hummed, finishing the rest of her breakfast, and speaking of breakfast, “Oh, Charon? Have you eaten yet?”

“Yes.”

She grinned and nodded, then the thought occurred to her that she must look like a dork, grinning just because he'd eaten, so she turned her attention back to Cassidy, “When do you want to head out?”

“Soon as possible, preferably. We get it done quicker, the more likely we won't have to haul shit back in the dark.”

Ella nodded in response, “I'll go get ready then,” And stood to climb the stairs and to the bedroom she and Cassidy shared. She shrugged into her leather armor, Cassidy soon came through and did the same.

Watson was the first one ready to go, unless you counted Charon, but he had already been ready to go before they had even _decided_ to go, as he usually refused to take his armor off with the exception of the time when Cassidy had first fixed it all up.

Then she and Cassidy were ready, having helped each other with the clasps and belts and laces on their armor that they couldn't have reached easily by themselves. Then, as they were waiting by the door, Butch came down, with maybe about half of his armor coupled together, and fitting kind of loosely.

She rolled her eyes, and she and his sister went about re-doing all of his shoddy work, making sure that the armor was snug against him. He complained that it was too tight, but they ignored him, and smacked his hands away from the clasps when he tried to loosen it himself. He complained some more, and to prove that it wasn't too tight, Cassidy snaked a finger under the armor to dig into his side, which he yelped at and seemed about ready to fight his twin, but it ebbed away as they walked through the doorway and into the midday sun.

Unfortunately, they hadn't gone unnoticed, as Jamie and their father came to meet them at the edge of Minefield, at the base of the hill that led to the water tower.

“Where are you going?” Their father asked, frowning as though he'd caught her trying to sneak out of their rooms back in the vault when she was thirteen.

“Scavenging,” She replied, as they made their way up the hill and towards the water tower. Jamie and their father continued to follow them, as they passed over rocks, and down the other side of the hill and towards the power station.

There were some smaller than normal radroaches that scattered as they approached.

“Smaller building first?” Cassidy leaned over to her and asked.

“Yeah,” She replied, “Who checks it out?”

Watson had volunteered with a smile, and slipped in through the door. Ella chanced a glance around, and noticed that her father was approaching Charon with a frown on his face. She turned back to the door and pretended not to hear their conversation.

“You're her bodyguard, aren't you?” Her father began.

Charon grunted in reply. He hadn't even moved to acknowledge he was part of a conversation now.

“So, wouldn't you agree that it would be safer for Ella if she were back at the house? Or in a place like Rivet City?”

“I cannot guarantee her safety if she is not in my presence,” Charon replied simply.

“But surely, you must concede the safety of Rivet City?”

“Every place has its' dangers.”

Her father frowned, and she glanced sideways to Charon. He was looking at her out of the corners of his eyes too, turned slightly away from her father, his eyes flicked back to the door quickly, but she spotted two figures upon the horizon.

“Cassidy,” Ella caught her attention, “Binoculars.”

The other girl fished them out of her bag and checked the horizon, then handed them off to her, “I don't recognize them,” She told her.

“I don't either.”

Watson had poked their head out of the door, and called that the inside was clear, and with a little bit of curiosity, looked out towards their new preoccupation.

The binoculars made its' way to Charon, who cursed, then muttered, “Talon.”

“Talon?” Jamie huffed, “Only reason they'd be out this far from D.C is if they're after a bounty.”

“Bounty hunters?” She asked her brother.

“Mercs. They'll do whatever you want them to, as long as you have the caps.”

“Well, it's not like any of us have any bounties out on us,” Her father said, then complained, “Unless the DeLoria twins have been up to their usual tricks.”

Butch began to complain back at him, but she didn't really hear what he said as her attention turned to Charon, who bent down to whisper in her ear.

“ _Talons also bring back runaway slaves to their owners_.”

Her veins filled with ice, and now she knew that he knew. The only possible way he would know, would be that Cassidy told him. She tilted her head, and thought about what to do. There was a very real chance that they were here for her, the Junkyard was still somewhat nearby, and she wouldn't think that the slavers who would try to get her back would have expected her in Megaton or Downtown.

“Could you give me a boost up?” She asked Charon quietly, as her father and Butch continued their argument.

He nodded once, and kneeled by the small building. She placed her hands on his shoulders to steady herself, and put her foot in his cupped hands. With little effort, he stood, and lifted her above his shoulders.

Ella climbed up onto the roof, sitting on the edge, and loosed her sniper rifle from her back. Laying down on her stomach, she lined up the rifle and fired the first shot, then the second just as quickly. Both were head-shots as far as she could tell from the distance between them.

She released a breath she hadn't known she was holding. It was all over quicker than expected, but seemed as though everything was in slow motion. It was like there were years between the first and the second shot, like everything was in stasis for a few moments.

The arguing had abruptly stopped with the sound of the two gunshots, and every eye in the group was on her as she reattached the sniper rifle across her lower back, and slid down from the roof into Charons' arms, who set her down gently.

She shifted uneasily for a moment, but thought it was better to fake being confident than to let her father and brother realize she was nervous under their scrutiny.

“Charon and I'll go collect whatever they had, you start stripping the inside. We'll be right back,” She told Cassidy as she passed the group, and began walking out into the field. She didn't dare look back to see their shocked faces, but could hear Charons' heavy steps fall in with hers behind her.

They came to the two bodies quickly, the first one was indeed a head-shot, but the second one had hit the Talon mercenary in the throat. He'd only just taken his last breath after bleeding out from the hit to his jugular as they arrived.

She and Charon went through their possessions quickly, there were some medical supplies and a little bit of food, extra guns and ammo, and a note on one of them.

 

_Runaway Slave_

_Blue eyes, brown hair, medium height, scarred face_

_Slavers' mark on shoulder_

_-Sister_

 

Charon had found it first, reading it over quickly and handing it to her. She crumpled it up and stuffed it into her inside jacket pocket. They divested them of their armor and boots, and took that, their packs, and their weapons back across the field and back to the power station.

The door of the smaller building had been held open with a cinder-block, while Watson and Jamie were on lookout outside, and inside she could hear the continued arguments between her father and the DeLoria twins as they stripped the machinery inside for everything that they could possibly get.

“So, who's the unlucky bounty?” Jamie asked as they arrived back.

She shrugged, hoping to be as nonchalant as possible, “Some runaway slave.”

They listened to the unintelligible argument for a few minutes more, and then the three scrappers emerged from the darkened room, with bags and boxes filled with parts, and not just circuit boards.

“Should we do the other building, too?” She asked Cassidy as they piled all of their new loot together.

“We might as well at least look through it while we're here, it's still only afternoon.”

They left their new belongings in a pile, and crossed the street to the power station proper. Watson volunteered again to go in, and vanished into the darkness beyond the door. They only had to wait a few moments before Watson reappeared, back flush against the doors and face as pale as a cloud.

“What's the matter?”

“ _Ferals!_ ” Watson half whispered urgently, as though the ferals would be able to hear them. They hadn't emerged from the building with the sound of gun-fire, so Ella hoped that they wouldn't have heard their conversation.

She exchanged a glance with Cassidy, Ella hadn't run into ferals herself, but Cassidy had while she was down in the subways of downtown DC, and had told her about them, “How many are there?”

Watson shrugged, shaking as they did, “More than three or four I think, but I didn't get a good look.”

“That's all right,” She assured the teen.

Cassidy shook her head, “There's not really much that would constitute us going through a bunch of ferals to get to. Especially since we already got what we came for anyways.”

Ella nodded, “You don't need anything more than the circuit board for the turret?”

She shook her head again, “That's all, and maybe some extra wiring, but I could get that out of almost anything.”

She shifted uncomfortably, “I don't like the idea of a group of ferals being this close to where we live.”

“Why not send in Charon?” Jamie suggested with a casual kick of his boot. A small rock skidded over the pavement around them, stopping short of where the the road turned to dirt.

“Why?” She asked. There would be no reason to send in anyone by themselves, “Without any backup?”

“Ferals don't react to ghouls,” Charon explained, short and gruff.

Ella tilted her gaze to the ground, finding it suddenly very interesting. Cassidy and Charon probably knew why she was avoiding saying anything, and possibly Butch too, since if Cassidy had told Charon about Junkyard, than she'd probably have also told Butch as well. The terms of the contract made her uneasy, it was too much like having a slave that she, herself, was almost once. But Jamie, their father, and Watson didn't know, and she didn't particularly want them to find out or figure it out for themselves. She didn't want everyone to know that she'd almost been a slave, or that she was now _branded_ and _hunted_.

It made sense for Charon to know, since he was there to protect her, but she hadn't even thought that they'd send mercenaries after her. There was still so much about how the upper world worked that she didn't understand.

She didn't have to say anything, as wordlessly, Charon stepped up to the doors, and maneuvered himself around Watson and into the dark building. The doors shut with a sense of finality, but she was just being overly nervous, she thought, and forced herself to take a breath and calm down. If ferals didn't attack ghouls, it meant that he'd be okay, but it still made her unhappy to know he would be by himself.

Everyone spread themselves around, waiting for Charon to return. Cassidy, Butch, and Watson sat on the steps that led up to the power station, her father and Jamie stepped out into the open street and talked, and she nestled herself on the edge of the loading dock, while Dogmeat went between her and Cassidy.

After a few minutes, Cassidy rose from her spot and came to her, letting her legs dangle alongside hers. She pulled a Nuka Cola from her pack, and handed it to her. It reminded her of when they had first rolled into Megaton, and they'd sat out in front of Moira's with their legs swinging, when all that they were ever worried about was finding her father, and where they were going to sleep that night.

It'd been a long time ago, but shorter than maybe she thought. Had it really only been two months ago? It felt as though a lifetime had passed, and things were so different for them now. And she missed it, because who wouldn't want to miss a simpler time in their lives? Everything had gotten so complicated so suddenly.

What was it that she missed though? She thought to herself for a moment. The un-complications of day-to-day life, the excitement of a new place and new people, and being able to help those people. She suddenly felt very cut off from society, it wasn't a good feeling for her, but especially because she was a Chaplain, and the job she'd had been training for years for couldn't just be shaken out of her personality. There was a _reason_ she was sorted into the profession by the G.O.A.T.

Instead of dwelling on anything in particular, she focused instead on the drink in her hand. It was cool, but not cold, and the fizzyness that had survived 200 years tickled her throat as she drank it. There were only a few drops of it left when Charon emerged from the building, and he went directly to her.

“The building is clear,” He said.

She smiled, really not knowing what for, and replied, “Thank you, Charon.”

He gave a nod with a grunt, and they all gathered back around the doors that led into the power station again. They entered, and poked around the darkness with the light of Pip-Boys and dim emergency lights.

There was nothing of much interest to her, but Cassidy and Butch quickly began to tear apart each console as they came across them, taking whatever they could from them and stuffing them away. There was an office upstairs with a safe, but it only had paper pre-war money in it, so it was deemed useless.

There were a few engineering manuals that she snagged, and hopefully would be able to reconstruct so that they could be useful, especially since Cassidy was still trying to convince Butch to get into the craft.

They loaded up everything that they'd recovered outside, and heaved their heavily laden backpacks over their shoulders and carried what the packs couldn't hold in boxes they'd uncovered in the debris.

Walking back was a slow business, and when they'd finally arrived, it was already nearly dinner time, with nothing cooking at all. They ate cram and beans that had been quickly heated up, and sat together quietly. Even her father and brother shared their table with no arguments, or even wary glances around them. They departed afterwards, and Ella was keen on throwing herself into bed and sleeping forever.

It was very comfortable, and after a hard days' work, it seemed as though she would've been asleep immediately, but while Cassidy began snoring next to her, she just felt restless. She sighed and stood from the bed, padding out of the room and down the stairs. Charons' familiar steps trailed after her, a reassurance to her in the dark.

She sat at the kitchen table, bringing her legs up to the seat of the chair with her. Charon stood in the doorway, his huge build blocking out nearly the entire frame.

“Charon?”

“Yes?”

“They're going to keep coming after me, aren't they?”

“Yes.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be a Fallout 4 chapter! Are you excited? I'm excited!


	18. Elsewhere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amalthea Dawson wakes up in Vault 111, and flees for her life.

Amalthea Dawson

_-October 21st, 2277-_

 

Gasping cold recycled air, Amalthea opened her eyes. It was freezing cold, and she began to shiver instantly. Her mind sluggishly tried to put two and two together, but couldn't come up with anything.

The mechanisms around her unclasped, and she was introduced to warm air as the door opened to the chamber she was in. She still couldn't remember anything, as she curled up into a ball on the floor, shivering violently.

There were sounds around her, and she looked up, finding there was only one other person in the hallway of chambers, he was wearing a vault suit. He was bleeding profusely from his head, stumbling as he walked, and clearly disoriented.

She did her best to uncurl herself, and stood, “Are you okay? You need a doctor!”

The man didn't say anything, he just shuffled forward and grabbed her by the collar. It took a few moments of numb confusion when she realized that he was choking her. Her breaths were cut short, as his massive hands wrapped around her thin neck, completely enveloping her.

Amalthea tried to hit him, uselessly beating at his bloodied face and kicking at his unwavering legs. Then one well-placed kick sent him to the ground and groaning, and she crumpled down in front of him. She took a deep breath and forced herself up, even though she was now not only cold and out of breath, but also aching all over. She ran towards the door, and down another hallway, pushing a cart full of tools to the side.

She turned to shut the door at the panel, and saw that the man was standing and stalking towards her slowly. She shut it, then used a screwdriver as a make-shift crowbar to rip open the panel and ripped the wires out of it. Banging on the door began, but there was no way he'd get through, he'd have to go some other way.

She went to the panels for the vault door, finding a pip-boy and connecting it quickly. She didn't have time to take it – didn't even think about it either – and just ran along the meshed walkway as she escaped, fearing the man was just behind her.

The elevator took a bit longer, but when it finally got to going, she shivered as she saw movement in the room beyond the vault door. It had to be him, he was _chasing_ her, for what reason she didn't know, or didn't remember.

When she came out into the open, it was dark, but it was nearly dawn, if she could decipher, and it was cold, but not as cold as the chamber or the vault she'd been in. She let her eyes adjust to the darkness around her, vision still blurred from her long sleep, however long it had been.

What she saw when she could finally make out what was around her was devastating. The neighborhood – Sanctuary Hills, her mind filled in – that she'd been from was in ruins, as was the areas farther away as well. How far did this destruction go on for?

The elevator began to creak and grind behind her, which meant that he'd gotten the controls for the elevator working. It began to sink, and she practically threw herself down the hill in front of her, hitting rocks and shrubs and all sorts of things, until she landed with a thud against the stones of the creek.

Amalthea forced herself up again, and ran to the neighborhood, completely empty except for one Mr Handy, though he seemed to not have noticed her, so she pressed on past the first few houses and ducked into another one.

She hid herself in between the old fridge and the wall, and she waited. She could hear her breathing and her pulse in her ears, so she endeavored to calm herself down, so that she could at least hear if he was approaching her. It took a considerable amount of time, but she got her breathing under control, even though every part of her, especially her lungs, continued to ache.

She waited. And waited. Nobody ever came into the home. The side of the house had its' paneling ripped out, so she went out the back, to see if she could see anything. She couldn't see the neighborhood, but when she looked up, she immediately ducked back into the house.

The dawning light had revealed to her that he was standing in the spot she had stood in when she'd first come up through the elevator, and he was standing there like a statue. She calmed herself down again, and a half hour later she looked back out. He was still standing there.

How could he be standing that perfectly still with the head wound she'd seen him with? Why was he standing there, in that spot? Was he looking for her in the neighborhood?

She checked the house, satisfied at least that he was still a ways away from her. There was a safe that was connected to a terminal, which was a terrible choice for whoever had set it up, because she was great at terminals, just like her dad.

It opened, and revealed to her a pistol, a grenade, and the entire rest of it was crammed up with drugs. Buffout, Psycho, Med-X, all the usual, so she grabbed it all, and stuffed it into a backpack she found under the ruined bed. It was better than nothing.

Amalthea checked to see if he was still there, and he was. She could make a run for it, and if he saw her, she'd have such a lead that it wouldn't matter. Her first priority right now was to get to Concord, as it would be easier to find some shelter in a city setting than it would be here, with a limited number of homes and hiding places, and it would be harder for him to find her.

She shouldered the backpack carefully, using an old leather belt to tie together the straps, so she wouldn't have to worry about if the backpack was going to fall off with her running. She breathed a few times, getting as much oxygen as she could, and then broke into a dead sprint out of the neighborhood.

Running fast as she could, she sailed across the wooden bridge, not stopping to think about if the wood was about to give way beneath her, and then up the hill to the gas station.

The Red Rocket was also vastly empty. She turned back, trying to make out the faraway hill, and she couldn't see him. She didn't know if it was because he was already gone, or if it was because she just couldn't make out his figure from that far away.

She gulped, and looked between the small Red Rocket and the bridge that led out of town. She couldn't see him there either, so chances were good that she could take a short amount of time to look through the gas station. She bolted into it, nearly ripping off her backpack and shoving cram, nuka colas, comic books, and tools into her bag, before she told herself that she was there for too long, and began to move along.

He still wasn't at the bridge, so she assumed he was held up somewhere else, and made her way quickly down into Concord.

It may not have been a big city, but it was the closest to them and there were enough buildings that were close enough to each other that she could hide out there until the danger passed. Amalthea remembered that she and her mother would walk to the market there, and sometimes they'd go to the museum. Usually they drove to church, because her father only ever woke up early if it had to do with some power armor he was working on.

Memories began to come back to her, like a trickling stream. Her fathers' secret workshop, a funeral, a wedding, the air sirens. It was why they'd gone to the vault, Armageddon, as her father called it, had finally arrived.

But how long had they been in the vault? Her father had told her that if there was ever nuclear war, the areas around the blasts would take hundreds of years before being livable again.

She was about halfway down a street in Concord when she heard a noise, so she jumped towards the nearest building, and scrambled inside through a busted window, and hid under the sill. She waited until the movement outside stopped, and chanced to take a look. Down the street had nothing, but up towards the church had a figure in the middle of the road.

It was him again. He was there, standing stock still, facing away from where she was hidden. It was then that she recognized him – Mr Lowell. He was one of their neighbors, and she'd always liked him, he gave out full-size candy bars on Halloween. At least, before whatever secret mission he and her dad had gone on. When he'd come back, he was weirder, and didn't give out candy on Halloween. He didn't even put up his decorations. Then he got married to Ms Ruby, and she started to give out candy on Halloween. She'd give fist-fulls of it to anyone who came, which was better than full-size candy bars in actual amount of candy, but full-size was still cooler to get when you got it.

This year she was going to be too old to go trick-or-treating, but she was -had been- going to try anyways, because she could at least count on Ms Ruby to give out candy.

There was a shot, then another, followed by a storm of the sound of fighting. She waited it out, and when the noise had settled, she looked out into the street again. There were probably ten men laying on the ground, maybe more, and Mr Lowell was still in the same spot as he had been before.

Amalthea waited, and every hour or so she'd sneak as quietly as she could to see if Mr Lowell was still there. The sun was starting to set when he'd disappeared, and she gave it another hour or so before she ventured out into the town. She searched high and low, gathering what food and water and whatever else she could get her hands on, and sticking it all in her backpack. She ate cold cram, and sat in a corner, too scared to sleep.

 

 

- _October 22nd, 2277_ -

 

In the morning, she went and inspected the dead men. Even the dead held important information, if you just understand what you're looking for, is what her dad told her. She was retroactively thankful for all the apocalypse training he'd put her through.

The men were dirty, and besides the obvious bullet wounds, they had track marks and bruises and all kinds of scars. The dead men were wearing dusty clothes and cobbled together armor, not of any specific army, so she had to assume there weren't any armies left, and that it was dangerous here now.

She looked down at her own clothes, bright blue and yellow, and then she looked at theirs, and the town around them. Everything was ruined, and here she was, dressed like some sort of doll, still pristine in it's package, at a garbage dump. She'd stick out like a sore thumb.

Amalthea didn't want to take their clothes, which were horrendously dirty and smelled of old sweat and death, but she could at least look around the town. There had to be something there she could change into, so she searched the town. A dusty – but whole – faded denim dress from the church, a pair of pants from a corner department store, and a thick leather jacket from one of the museums' displays. She left her vault suit in some trunk, she didn't need it anymore. She'd hardly been in the vault long enough to even count herself as a vault dweller, as someone had called it when they'd been helped with the paperwork or something.

Other than the dead men, there weren't any other people in the entire town. She knew, because she searched, and took what food and protection she could find. The guns would come in handy later, if nothing else.

She determined the tallest point of the town, which was the churchs' tower, and took the staircase up to the peak to check the situation.

She could see all of downtown Boston, and it seemed that all of it was in ruins. Amalthea stayed at the top of the tower, and searched for movement below. There was none, neither in nor out of Concord, so she stayed there an hour or two more to think of a plan of action. In a situation such as this, it was better to think all her options through when she could rather than to rush face first into trouble.

Though, she didn't really know her way around. She knew Sanctuary Hills by heart, and had been to Concord enough times to know where everything was, or where it was supposed to be, but she'd only been to Boston a few times. It was too expensive to travel that far, and with the traffic, it was usually a long and boring ride that she would dread whenever they _had_ to go there, with one exception.

She checked the area occasionally, not knowing what else there was to do, and finally there was some movement below her. Amalthea as still as possible, and watched what was happening. She couldn't really make out exactly what it was, but there were two figures; one roughly human shape (She wasn't going to make assumptions, they could be aliens for all she knew. Her mother would probably say that she read too many issues of Astoundingly Awesome Tales), and the other was large and hulking and slow.

At least she could be certain that it wasn't Mr Lowell, even though she wasn't entirely sure where he was at the moment. She descended the churchs' tower and made her way towards where the two figures were carefully.

It was a diner, the Drumlin Diner, where she and her father had spent lunch at once when he'd taken her to a baseball game when she was eleven. It'd hardly been three years ago for her, but it looked like many more than that for the Diner.

In front of the diner, in what used to be the parking lot, two women were talking and exchanging goods. The large hulking figure had revealed itself to be a mostly bald two-headed cow, though she had never seen a cow before in person before, but she'd seen them in books. Cows were only really found on farms, and Sanctuary Hills, and Boston for that matter, weren't anywhere near the acres upon acres of farmland that made up East Central, the Midwest, and the Plains Commonwealths.

She approached them with caution, making her movements slow, but clearly visible. The two women were startled when they'd finally noticed her, but didn't pull guns on her, as now she could see they were both armed.

“Hey kid,” One said sullenly.

“You lost?” The other one asked. They were both clearly familiar with each other, the one with the mutated cow seemed to be a merchant of some kind.

“Uh...” She thought, who would ever believe that she was frozen in a vault for who knows how many years? It was best not to even bring up the vault, they might not even know of the existence, and if that were the case it would bring up more questions than she wanted to answer. She wanted a safe place and civilization, though she wasn't likely to get it, “I'm new around these parts. I was looking for-”

She thought, then quickly added, “I heard there was some safe haven around here?”

In the stories, there were always tales of safe havens, and there usually was. Maybe if she wished hard enough, it would be true. They took in her strange appearance, and miss-matched clothing.

“You mean Diamond City?”

“Is that what it's called?” She asked quickly, “All I heard was it might be safe.”

“Yeah, you mean Diamond City,” The merchant said, “Where are you from?”

Amalthea thought quickly, she couldn't say she was just up the street, “D.C.”

The one who wasn't the merchant whistled, “All the way from the Capital Wasteland? I heard they had their own fortified place down there. That ain't safe?”

She shrugged, finding the words for as non-commital an answer as she could muster, “Heard up here was safer.”

“Too many super-mutants down there, I heard. Crawling throughout the ruins like lice,” The merchant said to the other woman, “We've got super mutants up here too.”

“Not as many, I heard,” She pretended to know what they were talking about, “So, how do I get to Diamond City?”

“I'll take you there for a hundred caps,” The merchant offered.

“A hundred caps?” The other woman looked at her in disbelief, “Look at her, she's little more than a child.”

“Fifty then.”

She pretended she knew what they were talking about now too, “I don't have any caps, but I've got some food and guns and ammo.”

The merchant shrugged, “I guess that'll do.”

She brought out her backpack, and let the merchant look through what she had. Amalthea gave up what was apparently roughly fifty caps worth of goods to the merchant. It seemed as though the other woman made sure that she wasn't being ripped off, and for that she was thankful.

The two women finished up their business, while she sat a little ways away by the roadside, going through what was left, and snacking on a handful of potato crisps while she waited. She ate half of what was in the can and put it away, waiting for awhile longer before the merchant came down with her two-headed cow. She didn't want to ask about it, because she didn't want to oust herself as being out of the loop of what must be normal to people now.

“What's your name, kid?” The merchant asked.

“Amalthea.”

“What kind of name is that?”

She shrugged, “It's what my dad named me. My mom called me Molly.”

The merchant sighed, “At least your ma had sense,” They shook hands, “Carla.”

 

They traveled as quickly as they could, skirting through the bulk of Cambridge, Carla gave her the excuse that it was overrun with ferals. She then immediately agreed that they shouldn't go through the place, even though she didn't know what 'ferals' were.

It was all strangely empty, as Carla seemed to know just where to go to avoid the worst of the dangers. It was disheartening to see the state of things, cars left broken and rusted, buildings empty and crumbling, grass – what there was – was brittle and brown, though some of it were long and reedy, and looked softer than they were, but were still the same shade of brown in color.

Over a bridge, quietly, and through some streets, and then they began to see graffiti showing the way to Diamond City, and men patrolling in uniforms and umpire pads. Carla wasn't at all concerned with them as they traveled, so Amalthea walked closer to the merchant.

Diamond City, as it had turned out, was the old Fenway Park, where she and her dad had gone to the baseball game when she was eleven. The gates were already open, and Carla called for one of the guards to fetch some vendor she had business with.

“What do I do now?” She asked Carla.

Carla shrugged, “Got you to Diamond City, so my jobs' over.”

She looked at the entrance to the place skeptically.

“What's the matter, change your mind?”

She shook her head, and entered the ticket area, making her way past the turnstiles and up the stairs to the entrance of Diamond City.

Amalthea stood for a moment at the brink of it, looking down into the crowded and make-shift town.

What was she supposed to do now?

 


	19. Contract

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr Rhodes asks the impossible.

James Rhodes Jr

_-October 22nd, 2277-_

 

The man who was his namesake paced back and forth, disrupting the little pin pricks of light that were making their way through the boarded up windows in their temporary home. Even getting him to stay here, in a different house as Ella, had been a bit of work to accomplish. But now, trying to get him to leave, was a whole other pain in the ass.

“How could you even suggest something like that?” He grumbled as he continued to step through and kick up the dust, “Leaving Ella here? With the DeLoria twins, a ghoul, and some kid?”

“And a dog,” He reminded.

His father continued on without hearing him, “Especially after what you've told me. Can you be sure? She would have told me if she were in trouble, so she couldn't be in trouble. She's a good girl!”

“I'm pretty sure,” He responded.

“Yes, but can you be _very_ sure? She's never been in trouble her entire life, she would have told me if she was.”

“If she's never been in trouble her entire life, then how do you know that she'd tell you if she were in trouble?” He pointed out.

His father frowned at him, “She would. She's a good kid.”

“She's an adult, who just shot two guys in the head with a sniper rifle, over twice a distance most of these wastelanders can usually shoot.”

“It must've been a fluke.”

“A fluke?” He was flabbergasted, “A _fluke? Really?_ She looked like a natural with that rifle from where I was standing.”

“Yes, a _fluke_. The only weapon she's held in her entire life was a bb gun I gave her for her tenth birthday.”

“Alright, there's so much wrong with that sentence – one, why did you give her a bb gun, in a _vault_? Two, why do you think that because she's only ever had a bb gun that she wouldn't be good with real weapons? Three, did you even think to teach her hand to hand? That would've been a much better skill to teach in an enclosed area like the vault. And four, she's been on the surface since you left the vault, so why don't you think that she'd teach herself how to fire real weapons? Oh, and I almost forgot, why are you discounting a bb gun she's had since she was _ten_? Yeah, it wouldn't be that great in a real fight, but damn it all if she didn't learn from it.”

His father, of course, had ignored him throughout the rant, and just kept pressing on, “Ella would be much safer somewhere else, and with other people. I'm not entirely convinced that those mercenaries weren't here for _them_.”

“Do you not remember being told that she cleared out that school in Springvale? Was that a _fluke_ too?”

Dr Rhodes shook his head, “It must have been ingenuity, and traps. Nothing upfront or anything like that. If more mercenaries come up here, looking for _someone_ , then she wouldn't have any time to prepare or anything like that. It's easy to pick someone off with a sniper rifle when they don't know you're there, it's another thing to be fighting off somebody who snuck up on you while you're sleeping.”

“Assuming they'd get past Charon without him noticing.”

“The ghoul is big, I grant you, and would be a deterrent just through intimidation, but how good is he in a battle? We've yet to see that.”

“He's pre-war military. I'm sure he knows how to handle himself in a fight.”

“How do you know he's pre-war military? What if he's lying? What if whoever told you was told a lie? And what if they'd gotten two different ghouls mixed up? Huh?”

“Charon is known throughout downtown D.C. You'd have heard about him too if you hadn't been gone all these years. Even the mutants in downtown know to get out of his way when he's passing through.”

“This isn't downtown, Junior,” His father sighed, “And all that about mutants getting out of _his_ way? That sounds very over-exaggerated.”

“Exaggerated or not, he's got a reputation in the Capital Wasteland for being a _badass_ , and you don't think he'd be up to the task of protecting Ella?”

His father chuffed, “ _Badass_ or not, we still haven't seen him _fight_. What if this guy isn't even the real Charon? Ever thought of him being an impersonator?”

“Yes, I'm so sure that there was just a fucking tall ass ghoul who thought, 'You know what would be fun? Pretending to be bound to a contract with no say in anything about my daily life until I die, so that people think I'm a badass', that sounds _plausible_ ,” He said, the words dripping with sarcasm.

His father stopped in his tracks, “What do you mean, contract?”

He sighed, “I already _told_ you before, don't you ever listen?”

“Yes, sure, but what about the contract? You said he doesn't have any say in... _anything_?”

Jamie shrugged, “Well I don't know what the fucking contract says, all I know from rumors is that he'll do whatever the contract-holder says.”

“Huh... That's... isn't that strange to you?”

He shrugged, “Not much stranger than anything else out here. Why?”

“I'd heard about the military doing experiments on soldiers two hundred years ago, but brainwashing... brainwashing shouldn't have survived this long...”

“What are you talking about?”

“He was brainwashed to follow whatever the owner of the contract says, that much is apparent. But if this happened two hundred years ago? He shouldn't still have that sort of programming in his brain.”

“And?”

His father resumed pacing in silence, every once in awhile he would mutter something to himself. This kept up until Jamie got bored and stalked outside, without even a second glance from his father as he left. The DeLoria twins were busily working away on the turret, reading over an instruction manual as they worked. Watson was playing with dogmeat, gangly limbs flailing as they chased each other through the playground of Minefield. Charon was leaning up against the house they'd taken up residence in, and Ella sat on the stoop, tying her boots up.

He crossed the run down playground, and arrived just before she was finished with her shoes, “Where're you goin'?”

“Thought I saw some wild mutfruit bushes a couple of days ago,” She tied her last knot, “I wanted to see if it really was.”

He hummed in response, “You mind some extra company?”

She looked up at him, a moment of uncertainty flashed through her eyes, “Sure.”

Ella stood, and began to make her way through the neighborhood, leading him and Charon to where she had seen the wild mutfruit. It was growing against the rocks of the cliff, and still had a few pieces of fruit on them, if a bit anemic looking. They picked the fruit from the bushes, stashing them in the bag that Ella had brought.

He eyed the bushes thoughtfully, “You know, you could probably dig them up and transplant them nearer to the house.”

“Hm?” Ella turned to look at him.

“Just thinking you could start a farm or something if you're going to stay here long term,” He suggested.

“I thought you were still trying to convince me to live in Tenpenny Tower with you.”

He shrugged, “Seems like you can handle yourself pretty well out here. Unlike Dad, I'm not _blind_. And you've got everyone else, most settlements hardly even have one or two people who know how to fight between twenty of them.”

She shrugged in return, “I hadn't really thought about if we were going to stay here long term. We were just going to be out here for the winter to see if we liked it better than living in Megaton. Our house out there is too small to handle five people and a dog. And it leaked.”

“Including the kid in this already, are you?”

His sister hummed, “I might as well. Watsons' a good kid. Just a bit hungry and without a home is all.”

“Too generous for your own good, Chaplain,” He joked, but he noted how Charon gave a just barely visible jolt. It seemed like he didn't know Ella was a Chaplain either.

“If I'm not, then who will be?” She replied, “Though, I'm not really a Chaplain anymore. I've been putting work into becoming a Priest of All Faiths.”

He didn't know that, and it seemed that neither did Charon, if his momentarily stunned reaction was anything to go by. The ghouls' face was quickly masked away from the double surprise in the short amount of time he'd been exposed to it, and Jamie turned more towards his sister, “A Priest of All Faiths, huh?”

She nodded, “I've only really run across the Church of Atom in Megaton and the Church of Saint Monica in Rivet City though. Confessor Cromwell and Father Clifford have both given me books and sermons to read regarding both of the religions, and I've been reading when I can.”

“That's interesting,” He hummed, trying to act as nonchalant as possible, “I think if the Talons knew that you were a Priest of All Faiths, they wouldn't be after you.”

Ella froze, going stock still, “How...?”

“I figured it out,” He said quickly, “You were acting too weird for it to not be that.”

She was silent a moment, “Why would the Talon stop coming after me because I'm a Priest of All Faiths?”

“I ran with the Talons a while back, when you were still a baby. They're about as religious as most people in the wasteland, and a Priest of All Faiths is rare. Rare enough to be more trouble than their worth in their eyes. Word gets out about it, and people'll stop trading with 'em, stop doing business with 'em. Slavers and Raiders still don't much care, but there's hardly a thing that they care about more than money and drugs.”

“Unless the caps are good,” Charon grunted.

He hummed and shrugged, “They'd have to be _very_ good.”

Ella was silently staring down the Mutfruit bush. He and Charon both shifted uneasily, but he couldn't be sure if they were both uneasy for the same reason.

“I'll start spreading the word around when I get back in the area of downtown. They're always lurking around there,” He said, she hummed in reply, “Who was it?”

“Who was what?”

“Who put the bounty out on you?”

She bit her lip, and looked away, “A man named Sister.”

“Don't know 'im off the top of my head,” He shrugged, “Could be a new guy working for Eulogy Jones, or he could be 'self-employed'.”

“I don't much care either way. A slaver's a slaver,” She sighed, “It's so much different out here than it is in the Vault.”

She hadn't even realized that she'd just confirmed to him that Sister was a slaver, and the implications that carried.

“Ella?”

“Huh?” She turned to him.

“Don't let the wastelands change you,” He looked away, across the barrenness that probably hid a hundred different enemies, “And if they do change you, let it be to make you even more righteous.”

“You say that as if you care whether or not I am.”

“I do, really,” She looked so much like their mother, “Out here needs more of you, and less of me. Not many people would level a gun at a mans' head because he was about to activate a bomb.”

“It was already deactivated, there was no chance that it would have exploded. And even if you rigged it, you would've had to have gotten clear before you blew it up, giving me enough time to deactivate it again.”

He shrugged, “Not many people would deactivate a bomb just because.”

“I'm sure someone would have.”

“Then they would've already,” He clicked his tongue, then yawned. It had been a late night and an early morning with trying to reason with their father.

They stood for a few more minutes, then went back to Minefield, looking for shovels. He checked back up on their father, but he was still pacing and mumbling to himself, and hadn't even been aware that Jamie was there to look in on him.

There wasn't much more to the day than to decide where they were going to plant the mutfruit bushes and watch as his father continued going down a rabbit hole.

 

 

Charon

_-October 22nd, 2277-_

 

The mornings were mostly the same as every morning with this group. They'd get up, have breakfast, then go about doing some work, whatever that might have been for the day. Today the DeLoria twins were finishing the turret, and Watson had volunteered to look for any more wild fruit, while there was still fruit to be had and before the weather turned. Ella went about looking through her pile of books that she was going to repair, and picked one out, so now, he was sitting at the doorway, listening to nothing but the rustle of pages in the other room.

Time seemed to blur together, so he couldn't sure if only a couple minutes or a couple hours had passed at any given time. There was only the rustle of pages in the other room.

Ella appeared at the doorway though, looking down as he sat in his chair nearby, “You know, you don't have to sit there, if you don't want to.”

“What would I do?” He asked, instinctively filtering the conversation as she about to give him orders to do otherwise.

“I don't know, whatever you want, I guess.”

“I cannot guarantee your safety outside of my presence,” He replied. In the past, that had only worked as an excuse the first few times, in the case that he didn't actually want to do what his former masters had asked him to. It was the only loophole that he'd found, but if they pressed, they could override it. In this case though, it wasn't because he didn't want to do what she was suggesting (That wasn't even an order in itself), but because he felt the need to be near her. _For what?_ He asked himself, _in case Talon mercs suddenly descend from the ceiling, like some sort of communist spiders in stealth gear?_ She would be just as protected if he was sitting outside the house. Ella didn't seem to know that she could press him out of that excuse, but he thought that even if she did, she probably wouldn't.

She sighed, “Okay.”

Ella was about to turn, when he suddenly stood. He was already standing before he could stop himself. She looked to him, curiousness plain on her face, and before he even knew what he was doing, he pulled out the little book that he'd picked up at the school, and handed it to her.

She took it carefully, he watched closely as she handled it with absolute care, and even then, it was almost falling apart in her hands.

“It might be too ruined to fix,” She said, examining it, “But... I could _try_. This is yours?”

“Yes.”

“Then, I'll try.”

He shifted from foot to foot, “Thank you,” He said, the words almost foreign on his tongue, and he sat back down. She disappeared back through the door frame, and he continued to listen to the shuffling of pages.

Charon sighed to himself.

 

 

Ella Rhodes

_-October 22nd, 2277-_

 

Dinner was a quiet affair, she was too tired from the work and the eye strain to talk at all, and Butch and Cassidy seemed to be worn out from their work on the turret. The two of them did promise though that it should be up and running by mid-morning the next day though. Watson and Charon were quiet through the whole meal, though Watson never really talked unless there was a conversation, and Charon never talked much at all.

Her father and brother hadn't come, but there was enough food for all of them, in case they did decide to show up later. After their meal together, they sat in the living room, the two DeLorias' were teaching Watson some sort of game, with Dogmeat overseeing, and she was reading sermons that she'd gotten from Father Clifford.

It was getting very late, and burning their fuel in their oil lamps would be a waste of resources, so they turned out the lights, and began their trek upstairs. But, just as they had gotten halfway up the steps, a knock sounded on the door.

Ella immediately recognized it.

She turned a stepped down, back into the living room, then into the small foyer of the house. Opening the door revealed her father, and it surprised her a little that Jamie was not with him.

Charon was immediately at her back, looking over her shoulder, she could feel his presence without even having to turn to see him.

“I was wondering if I could speak to you, privately,” He said, almost cheerfully.

In the Vault he was happy, or at least kept up the appearance of being happy for her sake, but he'd never been cheerful, unless he was working on some project. Even that had been limited by the Overseer, so it was few and far between that he could do that sort of work. It put her a little on edge.

She let him in without a word, wondering what he could possibly want to talk with her about.

“I said, _privately_ ,” He said again, frown now adorning his face as he turned to glare at the DeLoria twins hanging by the bottom of the staircase.

“It's all right,” Ella said to them, not wanting anymore arguing, she was too tired tonight for that.

Cassidy gave her a curt nod, then pulled her brother upstairs, where Watson had already disappeared to. Her father gave a look to Charon, and she was a little more reluctant to not have him as a witness to the conversation.

She was about to say something along the lines of, whatever you have to tell me, you can tell him, but then Charon turned on his heel.

“I will guard the door,” He said, in that concise manner he used when they were in a combat situation. She wanted to ask him to stay, but knew her father would probably throw a fit or something, judging by the smug smile on his face.

“Don't let anyone in,” He told Charon, just as the door was closing the last few inches.

Now entirely alone with her father, she felt more prone than she had since the junkyard incident. He turned to her with a smile, still smug, and she hated it. It was the smile he used when he'd outwit the Overseer. It was why the man had hated her and her father, because he was so smug, and she'd been just childishly stupid enough at the time to have thought that her father could do no wrong.

“What's this about?” She crossed her arms. It didn't do much, but it made her feel better, a little more secure in the surroundings, like the arms were her own armor.

“I wanted to talk to you about a few things,” He said, getting to the point immediately, “You know, the upcoming winter, Project Purity, _Charon_.”

That was the real reason, even though he'd lumped winter and the project into what he was talking about, he really wanted to talk about Charon. She rejoiced at the thought that she still knew her fathers' tells so well, it was like when he wanted to talk to her about her dating life in the vault.

'A few things came up – the broken pipes in your bedroom (Those had been repaired a week ago), what you thought we should do for dinner (Trick question, because their dinner was always at the mercy of the cafeteria staff), and _the rumor that you're dating Freddie_.'

At the same time though, she bristled. Why would he want to talk about Charon? He couldn't possibly have anything more to say that he hadn't already, as he'd made clear his view on ghouls, and his belief that they could apparently turn feral at any moment. Beside the fact that Charon was a ghoul, surely he wouldn't have anything against her having a bodyguard?

He didn't think they were dating, did he? (He thought that she and Freddie had been dating, and that was even more ridiculous. No, it had to be less ridiculous, she couldn't date Charon, not while he was under contract, and if he weren't he certainly wouldn't want to be dating _her_. _That_ was even more ridiculous.)

“What _about_ Charon?” She decided to cut to the real reason he'd come, as she didn't want to go through an _hour_ of talking about what the future weather held in store for them and his little pet project in the Jefferson memorial.

The man who was the subject of their conversation was just outside the door, guarding it, apparently, and she thought it would be rather boring for him to be standing there half the night while she played by her fathers' game.

 _He must find all of this boring_ , she thought. All he did was sit around nearby, doing nothing. She really should figure out how to fully restore that book of his, at least he'd be able to read in his spare time then. She hadn't even thought of him as the type of person who would enjoy a book, he was too militaristic, and went about everything with straight-forwardness that didn't betray if he had any past-times, or if he enjoyed anything. He was even straight-forward when he was eating, so it was impossible to tell if he liked the food or not.

Even when he'd helped her down from the roof of the small concrete room by the power station, his hands had only strayed for a moment around her waist. Had they really stayed there a moment or two longer than he would have normally? She didn't know, but her face heated up with the memory and the thought that perhaps... perhaps...

“I wanted to see his contract,” Her father said, interrupting her from her thoughts as they went on about a million miles a second.

“ _What_?” She asked first, not really understanding him at all. It was like he was speaking a language she only half knew, and she just couldn't interpret him right.

“His contract. I would like to see it,” He reiterated.

“Why would you want to?” She asked, getting more nervous by the second.

“I don't believe you understand the importance this document may hold. He could very well be the very last prewar U.S soldier, and one that is still following orders from that time, even. His prewar knowledge could prove very helpful when it comes to the project.”

“How would he be helpful, if he's staying here?” She turned another way, keeping him stalled with questions so she could avoid bringing out the contract.

“Well, obviously when you come back with me to the memorial,” He said, as though it had already been planned.

“I'm not going to the memorial with you.”

“What? Of course you are, it's much too dangerous out here for you. In the memorial, you'll be safe.”

“You know that the last time we were at Jefferson Memorial, it had to be cleared out of Super Mutants, right?”

“They are a problem that keeps resurfacing, but as long as we can keep it occupied, they'll be hesitant to attack-”

“They're not exactly the most brilliant minded.”

He ignored her and continued on his own train of thought, “ _Or_ , you could stay in Rivet City, and give me the contract.”

Now that stunned her, mostly because she hadn't quite expected him to blatantly say it. Since he'd started going on about how Charon could be a help to the project, she'd been waiting for him to subtly insinuate that she'd be safer if Charon wasn't around, and that it should be passed. Then he would have expected her to bring his name up, to which he would initially refuse, but before she could retract it, would accept by circling around on himself and stating that maybe he could find someone else to give the contract to so she wouldn't have to be bothered to.

“What? No,” She half-yelled, “I- _No_.”

“He's much too dangerous to be left around you,” - _She knew it_ \- “Wouldn't you feel safer if you were in a secure location like Rivet City, and I could use him to better all of mankind?”

“ _Use_ him? You're talking about _slavery_... of another human being!”

“Human? No, he's a ghoul.”

“Does that matter?” She was boiling with anger now, this was going to be the last thing she'd ever agree to, “It _shouldn't,_ because it's not true. He's human as the rest of us.”

“You're not thinking about how much good he could do, if only I knew what he knew prewar!”

“No. Charon doesn't deserve to be used by you as a tool as the means to your own ends. I think you should leave.”

As she was speaking, the door had been jerked open suddenly, allowing Jamie into the little front room.

“ _Here you are_ ,” He hissed at their father, “Told me you had to take care of your _business_.”

“I had business with Ella, yes.”

“You knew _damn_ well that you were suggesting other _business_ ,” Her brother frowned, “I told you not to bother her with whatever crazy-ass thing you're on about this time.”

“Fine, fine,” Their father grumbled, “Ella asked me to leave, so I'll leave.”

He turned to her, “We shall continue the conversation in the morning.”

She shook her head, then as sternly as she could muster, “ _I think you should leave Minefield_.”

The two men in the room were taken aback, but Jamie recovered first, and dragged their father out behind him. She was sure there'd have to be another conversation in the morning, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

As the two went past the door, she could hear her father say, “You weren't supposed to let anyone in,” to Charon.

Charon snarled back, “I don't take orders from _you_.”

She smiled to herself in the dark.

 

 

Cassidy DeLoria

_October 23rd, 2277_

 

Cassidy watched the unfolding scene before her with growing interest. Ella was all prepared to say goodbye to both her father and her brother, but Dr Rhodes was staunchly against leaving Ella there 'by herself'.

Breakfast had passed, and the sun was climbing up into the dull sky at an alarming rate. Soon it would be lunch, and still James and James Jr were standing in front of the house they'd stayed in and arguing. Their bags were already packed, and there was a promise of a storm brewing on the horizon, so Jr had wanted to leave as soon as humanly possible. His father, however, didn't agree with leaving at all.

“You know what,” Jamie finally said, “If you leave here with me, right now, I'll help you with that damn project of yours.”

It was the first time that Dr Rhodes had been struck speechless. He looked between his two children, dazedly wondering what he should do. It was an insult to Ella, really, that he was hesitant to pick between her and some project in the Jefferson Memorial.

It seemed like his dark staring would go on forever, but then Ella said, “Just go. I'll be fine here.”

Dr Rhodes swallowed, “And what if you were to be hurt? There'd be no one to take care of you.”

“I have plenty of people to take care of me,” She replied coolly, “Whatever happens, happens.”

He stood there for a handful of minutes more, seemingly thinking to himself, before he said, “Fine.”

They said their goodbyes to each other, and she didn't want to deal with the mushy stuff, so she went back to the house to start preparing lunch. She felt like chili would be a good idea for the day, since it was colder than it had been the last couple of weeks. With the turret done, and set out by the front door, she and Butch didn't really have anything else to do, especially since the cold-front was moving in along with a storm whose darkness promised to be terrible when it would finally arrive at them.

Ella had sent her father and brother off with some food and water, at least enough to get them to Rivet City, which was their first stop before going over to the Jefferson Memorial. Cassidy wondered if they would be able to make it to the Memorial and occupy it for the winter, or if they would have to wait it out in Rivet City. They'd just have to wait and see.

The others came in, when it was actually lunch time, and she'd almost finished the meal in question. There was no doubt that Dr Rhodes and his son had already left, if Ellas' sullen appearance was anything to go by. She may have been angry at at least one of them, but they were still her family.

They ate, then went about climbing the hill to the water tower, to get extra water before the storm could move in on them, and brought whatever they could back to the house, and stored it all where they could.

“How long do you think we have before the storm hits us?” She asked.

Ella shrugged, “I don't know how to tell,” She turned to her bodyguard, “Charon?”

He turned towards the horizon, and squinted, “Tonight or tomorrow,” He said, “Depending on wind speed.”

Then he turned back to focusing on carrying the huge stew pot full of water down the hill without spilling it.

It only took a small amount of time to gather the water, because they didn't have that many things that they could use to carry the water, and so they still had several hours before she even needed to worry about supper – which she didn't anyways, because they still had chili left over from lunch.

She and Butch decided to teach Watson how to play different card games, and Ella retreated upstairs and back to her work, Charon wordlessly following her.

 

They played go-fish and poker and taught Watson how to play solitaire, but soon, cards seemed to be the last thing each of them wanted. Cassidy stepped outside to check on the incoming storm, finding that it was much closer as the sun was beginning to set. Butch came out to smoke.

“Lemme bum one offa you,” She bumped his shoulder with hers.

He grumbled, but offered up one of the cigarettes. They had been available in the vault, but with a diminished supply, they were at once rationed and extremely expensive. You could only buy a pack once every two weeks, so when the two of them got smokes, they saved them for when either something great happened, if it was getting too stressful, or if the walls seemed to be closing in.

It was likely that they had both had a mild form VDS, but when they'd seen what the medication had done to Freddie, she'd avoided going to talk to Dr Rhodes about it. Freddie, immediately after taking the medication, was strung out, and would slowly start to come back into himself as the day progressed, and if he missed his medication in the evening, his behavior would get worse than it ever was.

She never wanted that, and she assumed Butch didn't either, since he hadn't gone to Dr Rhodes either. Cassidy wasn't even entirely sure if her brother even had it.

She turned her thoughts to the cigarette, and the cold air that was creeping over along with the night. There was nothing much else to do, there would be no travelling, no scavenging, no anything. They would all have to keep themselves entertained inside the house, for who knew how long until the storm passed, and then they'd have to see how muddy and cold it would be. As the winter was coming, it seemed more and more like they'd just have a dead few months ahead of them, and Cassidy wondered just how she was going to survive the boredom.

Butch finished his cigarette first, and went back inside, but she stayed a few minutes more, the dim light of the fading sun colored the encroaching clouds strange colors she'd never seen in the sky before. She thought that it must only be an illusion, and returned inside.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is also now a Gallery Post for this work, which can be found [Here](https://extra-dimensional-reconnaissance.blogspot.com/2017/08/all-roads-lead-somewhere-gallery-post.html). So beware of **more spoilers**. New screencaps and art will be added to it as it happens in the story/when it is acquired.


	20. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Boston, Amalthea gets found by family she didn't think she had left. Nick Valentine goes to investigate Vault 111.

Amalthea Dawson

_-October 29th, 2277-_

 

Amalthea had observed how the town worked the week she was there, and had picked up useful information as subtly as she could through the time. She now knew what Brahmin were, and what ferals were, and had even met a ghoul or two.

Throughout those seven days, she'd spent each night sleeping in a different location. The first had been in that church, under a pew and the watchful eye of the priest. The place was too small, even for her.

The second night she'd hid herself between the power generator in the middle of town and a counter, the robot Takahashi clanking around nearby. She'd burned her elbow in the middle of the night, and it still stung a little sometimes. The third night she'd had enough caps to buy a room at the Dugout Inn (After, of course, discovering what caps were and that they were the new currency, and then scrounging enough together), but she didn't have enough to sleep there every night, and the 'Innkeeper' didn't seem to be a good person at all. She liked the Russian man who told stories that carried across the entire room better.

The fourth night she spent in a sleeping bag under the radio station, it was too noisy and too damp, and the fifth night she'd managed to finagle her way up to a rooftop and slept under a roofs' overhang, it was more uncomfortable than sleeping on the ground.

The sixth night she spent in the crowded sleeping area by the farms, which was where she was working for a pittance. She didn't like it, so now she was wondering where she could find someplace to rest for the night. It seemed like she'd exhausted all that was available to her. She didn't have enough caps to buy a room again, let alone enough to even feed herself regularly.

It was becoming tempting to her to sell the guns, but she wanted to hold out as long as she could without doing that. They would be more useful to her than sold.

She went to Power Noodles, getting dinner there was at least something that lifted her spirits. Even though Takahashi only spoke one sentence, it was nice hearing the language she only half-understood. It reminded her of her Japanese grandmother, who, even though she spoke English perfectly, would speak in her native tongue as much as she could, even if nobody knew what she was saying.

Amalthea ate quietly, though someone came up and sat in the seat next to her. Takahashi came over, but before he could ask, a thick Bostonian accent waved him away.

“No thank you.”

There was only one person who talked like that, and she'd only seen him once or twice. It was a man named Nick Valentine, or rather, a synth named Nick Valentine. He was a local detective, apparently the nearly lawless future still needed detectives. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and kept eating.

He seemed to catch the subtle movement of her face, but only really because he'd been looking at her since he'd sat down.

“I heard you were named Amalthea Dawson, that right?”

She'd given that as her name to get on the farming rotation, because it was her name, but it shouldn't have meant anything to anyone.

“Yes,” She said around a mouthful of noodles.

“You named after anyone in particular?” His yellow eyes watching every movement.

“No.”

She didn't understand the line of questioning, because her name really shouldn't have carried any weight anywhere. Carla had told her vendor friend she'd been from the Capital Wasteland, and through them, the word had spread. If anyone had wanted anything of her, it would be for knowledge of the place that she'd never been to, but nobody was interested.

Mr Valentine hummed thoughtfully, “You have a place to stay tonight?”

It seemed like a trap, and she hoped it wasn't. She didn't have any place to stay, and that was incredibly apparent. She was terribly tired from helping with the harvest and with the terrible places she'd had to sleep the past week.

It wasn't like he was going to rape her though. One man in the Dugout Inn, who must have not liked synths very much, only referred to the detective as 'No-Dick Nick', though she wondered if that were true. He didn't seem like the person to do that sort of thing anyways, especially since he went around saving people, like he was the Silver Shroud or something.

She was just realizing that a robo-detective would have made for a very popular magazine pre-war.

“No.”

“Come 'round. There's a mattress I don't use.”

Seemed like a trap, but what for? She was more curious than anything, her father would be so disappointed in that she'd willingly walk straight into a trap to cure her curiosity.

She finished her noodles and followed Mr Valentine out of the marketplace, and down the back alley where his business was. She knew where it was already, she'd explored every inch of the city when she'd gotten here.

“I brought her, Ms Daisy,” Mr Valentine said as he led her through the door.

There was a little ghoul lady, sitting behind the desk, hunched over a type-writer. She was his secretary, she'd seen her in the marketplace, but hadn't known her name.

The ghoul stared for a moment, “You look _just_ like my Molly,” She remarked with a gasp.

The names and the memory smacked her suddenly, “Aunt Daisy?”

The ghoul stood from her chair, completely transfixed and teary-eyed, “It can't be you, but... I don't understand.”

Aunt Daisy came out from behind the desk, and they embraced. Amalthea couldn't believe that her Aunt Daisy was here in this time and this place, and had survived two hundred years as a ghoul. At this point, she didn't really care how it happened, she was just glad to have someone of her family there with her.

“How did you survive all these years?” Aunt Daisy held her at arms length, tears still in her eyes.

“Mom and I went to that vault!” She explained, tears of her own blurring her vision, “They _froze_ us!”

“Cryogenics?” Mr Valentine wondered aloud.

“Yeah,” She snuffled, “I escaped just a little more than a week ago.”

“Did anyone else survive?” Aunt Daisy asked her.

She nodded, “I know Mr Lowell did. He got out at the same time I did, but...”

“But?” Mr Valentine gently prodded.

“He had a head wound, and he attacked me once we were out of the chambers.”

“ _Attacked_ you?”

She nodded, “He tried to strangle me!”

“Mr Lowell did?” Aunt Daisy and Mr Valentine shared a look.

“I didn't really get a good look around, I don't know if anyone else made it out after or anything. I spent a day and night in Concord, but nobody else showed up.”

“Where's this vault?” Mr Valentine asked, “I'll go look into it myself.”

“Uh,” Her mind blanked momentarily, “It's north of Sanctuary Hills.”

“Which is?”

“North-west of Concord. Concords' north-west of Cambridge.”

Mr Valentine nodded, he and Aunt Daisy shared another look, and he disappeared out of the room. Aunt Daisy led her to the back, where there was a bed, and sat her down.

“Do you think Mom made it?”

Aunt Daisy sighed, “I can't be sure. We shouldn't get our hopes up.”

She nodded sadly, changing the subject to hopefully something a little less sad, “You're a detectives' secretary now?”

Aunt Daisy nodded, “Figures you wouldn't recognize him.”

“Recognize him?”

“Well, he's a synth now, but he's got the memories of Nick Valentine. He was a friend of Ms Rubys', he came to the wedding.”

“I don't think I remember him.”

“That's all right, there were a lot of people there, as I remember.”

There had been, and she'd only met a few people while she was there, and then promptly forgot who they were. Most of them worked with Mr Lowell and her dad, and tended to stay in their own circles.

“You just go to sleep now,” Aunt Daisy said, helping her into bed, and going off to fetch a blanket. She was covered and tucked in, and Aunt Daisy stayed nearby.

 

 

Nick Valentine

- _October 29th, 2277_ -

 

Nick walked the bases, twice. Reds and purples of the sunset reflected against the clouds above the city as he went, people returned to their houses as the chill began to descend upon them. Nick went back to the agency, then counted to a hundred before he pushed his way in.

Daisy came from the back room, sullen but no longer crying.

“She asleep?”

Daisy nodded.

He hummed and came around the desk, to the filing cabinets behind.

“Are you going to go?” She whispered, not wanting to wake her niece up.

“Of course,” He replied quietly, “Shouldn't we be sure?”

She nodded. Daisy was folded in on herself, so much unlike how she usually was. Her sister – or her sisters' corpse – was in that vault, along with probably hundreds of other corpses. It was unsaid, but the chances that anyone else had survived were slim.

There'd been horror stories of the Vaults, coming from all over, but he only knew of them vaguely. They couldn't have been more than baseless rumors – or that's what he'd thought until Amalthea had told them about the cryogenics.

And she had only seen one other person in the vault, Mr Lowell, who had – as she had stated – had a head wound and was bleeding. He could be dead now from blood loss or a hemorrhage or a clot by now. She hadn't met with any personnel or scientists or anyone else from the vault, so surely they were all gone, if they weren't keeping track of the people they were keeping in stasis.

The odds were slim.

“Just be careful. I don't have a good feeling about this. About any of it.”

“I will. Don't you worry,” He told her, “You take care of yourself, and your niece.”

She nodded again. They said goodbye, and he left.

 

Diamond City was empty and quiet, and he saw no one as he left. The buildings of Boston were equally quiet, but that wasn't always a good sign, so he stayed low and quick as he weaved through the streets and across the bridge to Cambridge. He didn't have to go the round-about way that merchant caravans took, since ferals didn't really react to him, because he wasn't human, unless he was clearing them out. He only did that kind of work every once in awhile, and when ferals were spotted too close to smaller settlements when he found them.

He hadn't been up past Cambridge, ever. He knew there was a farm or two out here, the caravans would ferry their excess crops up to Diamond City in exchange for a few city luxuries.

Nick didn't want to get lost though, so he kept on the road in the direction that Amalthea had described, and went quickly to avoid the nocturnal creatures and raiders. Concord was almost strangely intact in comparison to a lot of the other towns in the commonwealth, and he kept going.

He passed the Red Rocket after midnight.

 

 

- _October 30, 2277_ -

 

He didn't linger in Sanctuary Hills, and continued on up a path to the hill, where there was a huge elevator cut into the ground. Nick searched for a little while, and found the activation.

Descending to the vault was a strain on his sensors, and he was thankful that the huge vault door was already open, as he didn't want to hear any more of that creaking-grinding that the elevator produced, if the large vault door was the same.

Skeletons of people who were long dead greeted him, their empty sockets wide with surprise and their fleshless grins turned his way in cheer at their guest. It was clear that besides Amalthea and Rick, that nobody had been here in years. It was such a place that was hidden away, and _should_ have been safe, but the old craters that bullets had made in the concrete told another story.

Nick was faced with two doorways, and did a coin flip in his head which one he should take, then took the one on the right.

Immediately there was a room of cryogenic chambers in a room on his right, and he went to inspect it. Going through each one, he found that they were all already dead, and had been for some time, though the frozen chambers had kept their bodies from rotting.

He left the room, not feeling any more hope than he'd had when he'd come here, and continued down the hall. Nick came to a locked door, and had to make his way around the long-way. He ignored everything else as he walked through the corridors.

Every room full of cryo-chambers he came upon held nothing but death, including Daisys' sister. He thought that perhaps just Amalthea and Rick had been the only survivors, until he came to the last chamber in the last room. It was Ruby Lowell, he recognized her instantly, and she was still alive. Across from her had been Ricks' chamber, now mostly bloody.

In desperation he clambered to the panel next to her, but it gave him nothing but errors. Then he went to the terminal at the end of the room, and tried to deactivate her chamber from there. It threw out the same error, and locked up. It could only be deactivated remotely, but that was useless if he didn't know where the origin of it was.

He tried every other terminal in the entire vault, but nothing helped. Nick thought for a moment about forcing the chamber doors open, but if it was pressurized, it could kill her. He would need time to figure out how to override the remote activation.

Nick would have to pull every favor he accumulated through his years. He would even promise and owe people if he had to, but at least his conscious would be clear. It was just wrong, what Vault-Tec had done to these people.

Nick made his way back out of the vault, depressed and angry and horrified all at the same time. He was all the way to the Red Rocket station when he stopped to have a cigarette, and halfway through the cigarette, he'd seen a figure barely visible in the distance.

Whoever it was, was completely still, and seemed to be facing him.

He squinted into the distance, trying to make out anything about the man down there, and then noticed that his clothing was bright blue. A vault suit, as he'd heard people describe the item of clothing before. It could have only been Rick.

He extinguished the cigarette under his shoe, and went about going to meet him. Nick went quickly, losing sight of Rick momentarily, and then coming up where he had been, but he wasn't there anymore.

Nick looked around for any clue as to where Rick could have disappeared to. A slight movement, and that was all it took to entice Nick down a dirt path to the east. He ran the entire way, hoping to catch up with Rick and getting to the bottom of all of this. Why was he running away?

He came to a drowned quarry, searching the area around it, he didn't see anyone. He went down to it, hoping that maybe Rick was somewhere among the huge blocks of limestone or within the confines of the temporary offices.

As Nick came closer, he saw something bob in the water, and sprang into action without a second thought. He went to the edge and pulled at it, finding that it was the body of a raider.

A raider who'd been shot, not drowned.

Before Nick could turn, he was struck, and he blacked out momentarily while his internal computer reset his sensors. The next thing he knew, he was on a suspended elevator walkway, stopped precariously over the flooded quarry.

He peered around, until he saw Rick. He tried to move his hands, but they were bound together behind his back, and he found that his ankles had been chained to a cinder-block.

His eyes widened as he realized just what was about to happen.

“Rick,” He said to the man who was about to give him a watery grave, hoping that just knowing him was enough for him to spare this all.

Nick was a synth, and thus wouldn't drown, but also he wouldn't short-circuit and die either. He would be completely conscious. He wouldn't be enticing to mirelurks, searching for food, either. He could only look forward to waiting for the water to eat away at his circuits until they became disconnected.

Rick looked his way.

“I'm Nick Valentine, from before the war,” He tried to reason with him, “I went to your wedding. I knew Ruby!”

All the while that he was talking, Rick went about preparing to cast him down into the murky depths.

“Rick-”

He grabbed him by his coat, and dragged him to his feet. They stood, chest to chest for a few moments.

It was quiet, and the sun was rising just above Ricks' left shoulder, the oranges and pinks casting over the entire sky, and revealing where all the incoming storms were. Dark and light clouds intermixing, a bush of hubflowers swaying softly in the wind against it's craggly cliff-side home.

Then suddenly, the cinder-block was pushed off of the edge, and he tumbled off the side, and down into the dark water.

He was _fucked_.

 


	21. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **To all current readers, please know that there was a change in tags and rating. The rating has been changed from Mature to Explicit.**
> 
> Tags now includes:  
>  **EXPLICIT SEXUAL CONTENT**  
>  and  
>  **FRINGE HORROR / FRINGE HORROR ELEMENTS**
> 
> So please make note that there is some of that **in this chapter**. 
> 
> If for **any** reason **anyone** thinks that this should be counted as horror and not just fringe horror, then I will change tags to reflect that.
> 
> *I personally believe that what I wrote would count as non-explicit, but my Husband/Editor (Who only read this chapter, out of order, on my request), urged me to change it to Explicit.*

Ella Rhodes

- _October 30th, 2277_ -

 

Ella wasn't feeling well, and it took all of her willpower to keep herself sitting upright on the couch to eat her meals. She didn't feel _sick_ , she felt... tired and stretched, and like there was electric fire burning under her skin, skittering around her nerves so that none of her muscles were too much in pain for her to really consider herself pained in one specific area.

Maybe she was sick, but didn't realize it. The cause could have been any number of things. Food poisoning, radiation poisoning (Though she was pretty sure she wasn't, after she'd already done it for Moira's scientific research), or even just a normal illness. She didn't know _what,_ though.

The only thing that really consoled her throughout the day was that Charon seemed to be more uneasy than usual, and her tired brain connected it to him being worried about her. She just wanted to sleep, and the day seemed to go by quickly.

At dinner, Cassidy did everything that she could to keep her awake, and even helped her to eat. When it was time for bed, it seemed like it was about to be a group effort to get her up the stairs and to bed, but then Charon had come over and hefted her up into his arms like she weighed little to him.

Her face heated up with his closeness, or perhaps with illness. She was laid in bed and covered, and fell into sleep immediately.

 

 

Charon

- _October 31st, 2277_ -

 

Ella was asleep, and still Cassidy worried over her. He was nervous, as it seemed that whatever this was had come upon his contract-holder with no warning, but he knew that the best they could hope for was that she got as much rest as possible.

Eventually the others went to sleep, one by one, until he was the last one. He kept his usual vigil by the door in his chair. A thought struck him that this was _his_ chair, and the one that he sat in downstairs was also _his_ chair.

Nobody else sat in these two chairs, even when the seat was open to them, the others would prefer to sit somewhere else. It was the closest he'd ever gotten to something he could call _his_ besides his armor and his shotgun.

Near dawn he stood and went to the front door to check the progression of the storm. It was right overhead them, and was currently sprinkling. The sky had turned into a grunge-colored green, signifying that it was a rad-storm, but a pink-white lightning struck far in the distance.

_Plasma lightning_.

There seemed to be no end to the clouds either, so it would take awhile for them to see clear weather again. He ducked back inside, and made his way back to his seat.

Watson was up first, doing all of the morning things they did. Then Butch, whose full bladder called him outside, though if the sound of the door was any indication, he must've seen the lousy weather and decided the bucket in the downstairs bathroom might also do.

Then Cassidy, who went downstairs to begin breakfast. Dogmeat would normally follow her down, knowing that there would be food, but the mutt had resolutely stayed upstairs with Ella. When he'd looked in ten minutes after Cassidy had already left, the dog had made its' way up into the bed, lying next to Ella as she lay there unconscious.

The female DeLoria came upstairs when breakfast was done, and handed him a plate. Then went to check on Ella. She emerged from the room frantic, and shook his shoulder.

“She won't wake up!” She cried.

He jumped, the action spilling the breakfast all over the floor, and went to Ellas' side instantly, the worst scenario in his thoughts.

She was still breathing, a little shallowly, but evenly and enough to not cause any alarm for her to suddenly stop or choke. He shook her gently, but she had no reaction, not even slight stirring. Charon nearly picked her up off the bed, jostling her in an effort to wake her, but she stayed completely unaware of him. By this time, Watson and Butch had appeared in the doorway.

He put her back in bed.

“What do we do?” Cassidy asked.

He thought of what they _should_ do, and what they _could_ do, but none of it amounted to anything, “We wait,” was the best answer he could give.

Cassidy had to be calmed down, and Charon moved his chair into the room, so that he could watch Ella more closely, in case that she should stop breathing and he need to perform CPR. He only distantly remembered what it looked like, so he hoped that he wouldn't fracture her ribs if he was called upon to do it.

The day went by, and Cassidy came up during lunch and dinner to give him his meals, and to see if Ella had recovered any.

She hadn't.

Dogmeat was her second companion throughout the day, and refused to leave her side. Cassidy ended up having to give Dogmeat food while the dog stayed in bed with Ella.

It was well after everyone was getting ready for bed that Charon moved his chair back out into the hallway. Cassidy would be right next to her throughout the night, and he hoped that if Ella stopped breathing, she would pick up on it.

Before sunset, he went back outside and looked out into the darkening world. More green clouds, and more irradiated rain, and more plasma lightning. It wasn't letting up anytime soon. So he trudged back up and took his position, and went between his thoughts and counting the hours, hoping that Ella would be awake in the morning.

 

Charon was on the verge between the wakeful world and sleep, when a pinprick of something on the back of his neck caused him to look in on Ella.

She was gone.

He checked each room and rushed downstairs, and out into Minefield. Ella stood out there, by the rusty and broken jungle gym in the park, facing away from him, in nothing but her pajama shirt and shorts. The storm was raging, the winds were picking up, and unbelievably were the birds.

_Hundreds_ of them. They were probably crows, but he couldn't make out anything other than they were huge for birds and dark in color. Nearly every surface was covered in them, all vying for spots to sit on the playground equipment in front of Ella.

He ran to her, he needed to get her back inside, he needed to protect her.

Grabbing her by the arm, she spun around to face him. His eyes instantly locked with hers, except hers were deep portals of solid black. He lost himself in those eyes, staring at the infinite beyond them. They were depths of nothingness.

Pools of black blood that he was drowning in, he struggled to stay above the surface, taking deep breaths when he could, but the metallic blood forced itself down his throat.

Charon realized that the blood was pouring from her mouth, and that they were locked in a kiss, tongues dancing against each other as he choked. They were no longer outside the little house in Minefield, but in the center of a city so ruined and so cursed that not even the super-mutants would go near it.

There were beings there, some were familiar to him; ferals and centaurs, but there were also twisted beings that were so horrifying that his mind could not comprehend them, and were so terrifying to him that as soon as his eyes left, he'd forgotten what they'd looked like. His mind was actively repressing what was before him.

In this center of the city with no name, was a flat expanse of black dirt, scorched by nuclear fire, and in the middle of the black clearing there was a large and flat stone. She bid him to it, raking her fingers down his back, and the skin there caught aflame as her nails passed.

He wanted her, and for some reason, she wanted _him_.

 

She pulled him down onto the slab, he braced himself over her as her hands traveled his body, and his hands searched hers. Skin against skin, and she felt so gloriously soft. He'd never imagined that he'd ever feel the tender touch of a woman in his life again. That was what it meant to be under a contract such as his, but with her, it was like there was nothing standing in the way between them. There was no contract. There was no past. There was no future. There were no wastelanders or the wastelands they lived in. There were no raiders or slavers.

 

There was just the two of them.

 

He entered her and her supple flesh yielded under him and she moaned in both pain and pleasure. Ella writhed against him, her hair becoming a dark halo around her pale face as it twisted in climax. He was only vaguely aware that the beasts around them were twisting, writhing, and undulating as she did in her ecstasy.

Charon himself reached climax just after she did, his cum emptying into her. Then it began to rain with blood, her black eyes locked on him as she became coated, turning a solid shade of red as her stomach began to distend in front of her. His eyes went from her eyes to her growing belly with confusion. He began to worry for her as her stomach kept growing.

Her mouth opened widely, and an other-worldly scream tore from her lips, the sound imprinting on his soul.

Ella's stomach burst open before him, gushing blood and slug-like creatures from her that began to drop around them. The blood kept pouring from her even as he tried to staunch the wound. If only he could get her to a doctor, she would be alright. The blood kept going, flooding the city and the beasts around them, the blood and creatures easily going up to his neck, then over his head, and he was once again drowning in the blood that had come from her.

 

Then he awoke in his chair outside her bedroom, cold sweat causing his clothes to cling to him. Charon stood, and rubbed his face free of sweat, and tried to scrub the images from his eyes, but they seemed to be burned into his retinas. He looked in on Ella.

Ella was gone.

If he had hair left on his arms, they'd be standing on end. The horrific dream returned to him, and fire seemed to burn within his stomach. He all but sprinted downstairs, taking them two at a time and nearly tripping over his own boots, and threw open the door.

The storm wasn't raging, the wind wasn't howling, but Ella stood facing away from him, in nothing but her pajama top and shorts, in the rain.

There was a bird on the jungle gym, what might have been a crow, but he couldn't tell any bird apart unless they were vastly different, so he couldn't tell the difference between crows and ravens. He'd heard once that crows were larger, but that didn't matter now if it was mutated.

He crossed over to her, grabbing her by the arm, and she turned to him. His eyes bore down into hers, and was instantly relieved to see her normal eyes looking up at him. One blue-green, and the other a hazy blue.

But her eyes held no less depth than her nightmarish counterpart, and it seemed as though she could stare down into the depths of his soul. The expression in them were so gentle, and she rose on her tip-toes and gave him a peck on the lips.

“I had a strange dream,” She said quietly, so softly that even the sound of it felt fragile.

Had she seen this nightmare too?

He couldn't ponder it for very long, as she leaned against his chest, her arms snaking around his ribs, trying to hold herself up. Her pajamas were soaked through, and the rain was slowly dripping through his armor and getting the clothes underneath even more wet against his skin.

Charon hauled her up into his arms, and carried her back to the house.

He laid her down in her bed, Cassidy stirred and rolled over, and he turned to get some dry clothes out of the armoir for her. He left her to change.

 


	22. Home Isn't A Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Across the U.S., Paulo returns from a Brahmin drive in the North.

_Paulo Rafael Rivero_

_-November 2nd, 2277-_

 

Clouds rolled lazily above him across the sky. It was early November, and it was still warm enough to not need the extra clothing he kept with him. The extra clothing was only ever useful in the frequent and violent summer storms that Nevada had, but that wasn't now. He'd been walking for days. A month? Maybe. All that mattered was that he was nearing home before the holidays. He and Granddad always celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas, even though hardly anyone else did.

He was coming back from the West, having deviated so much so that he could go along the merchant roads of New Vegas, from a Brahmin drive out in the more northern part of Nevada, a large bundle of caps was his pay for the year, enough to perhaps convince Granddad they had enough to head out and live in New Vegas.

Paulo was glad to be going home, because along the drive he must've gotten a bad dose of rads, because he'd been having strange dreams lately. He hardly remembered them, but they just weren't for him.

They were living out of Nipton right now, and he hated it. The Powder Gangers were the worst, and the NCR didn't so much as mind as long as the two factions didn't cross. As long as you had the caps, you could have anything you wanted in the town, there was nothing that was not for sale there.

Even if they didn't head out to New Vegas, they would be changing locations anyways, as Granddad moved them from settlement to settlement every couple of years or so. So often, that Paulo had no idea where he had been born, and not even an idea where either his mother or his father were buried. Granddad never spoke about it, except for the fact that they were, and that he'd been the one to bury them.

Other than the fact that they were dead, all Paulo knew about the two were that they had been Desert Rangers, now an extinct faction. Everyone who could have any claim to have been one was either dead or now NCR.

He had to settle with a guard for 'entrance fee', and threw a few caps at him and made his way into town. The usual debauchery of the town hadn't lessened in the months Paulo had been out in the vast mountainous areas of the north. To one side of him as he walked, there were a line of prostitutes, one of them was having sex in an adjacent alley, her temporary lover being too impatient to even get her into the shoddy establishment.

The place had gotten Neon, a few places around the Mojave Wasteland did, and the owner of the place would boast at every turn about it. He didn't know how many times he'd been told just how many caps his girls pulled in for him to keep those gaudy lights on, and all of those generators he had, and he had to put up with it because no matter how crowded or empty the local bar was, they'd end up sitting next to each other. It kind of weirded him out.

He was just happy to be home.

Home, this time, was a small shack, but it was more like a closet in the gap between two buildings and a makeshift roof and door. Their beds were sleeping bags, and their stove was a hastily made wood-fire stove made out of cinder-blocks. It was the only place they could afford.

Paulo opened the door, and stepped into the tiny living space, but didn't see Granddad anywhere. It would have been hard to miss him if he had been there.

“Granddad?” He called as he entered, and closed the door behind him.

There was no answer, which should have been obvious, because he would have seen him if he were anywhere in the 'house'. A thousand things crossed his mind as to why he could be gone, he could have been murdered, his body left out to the mercy of the desert, he could have been kidnapped and made a slave. Granddad was too frail for that kind of thing, he was gentle and unused to callous-making work. He dropped his pack and went back to the door, shouldering it open, intent on turning the entire town upside-down to search for Granddad.

“Raffy,” Granddad smiled, coming home from somewhere with arms full of food, “I hadn't expected you for another week at least.”

Granddad shepherded him back into the home, putting food away into the little shelf in the corner by the oven.

“Sorry, I don't really know what day it is...” He apologized.

“It is the second of November,” Granddad stated proudly, “You'll have to wait a few more weeks for my famous sweet mash.”

“The Brahmin drive went better than expected.”

“I expect because the Legion is focusing their war front on us right now.”

“The Legion is here?” He had heard some rumors about them, but they weren't in Nevada, last he'd heard. That was before he'd gone away in May or June. The rumors he'd heard had come to him while he was out on the drive, coming from the Great Salt Lake, with news of the fall of New Canaan.

“Northwest, but the NCR held them off at Boulder City, or so we've heard. There isn't a day that a new piece of awful information isn't revealed about them,” The old ghoul gave him a hug, and they sat to talk some more, “You've been eating all right?”

Paulo rolled his eyes, “Yes, Granddad, I've been eating enough.”

“That's good,” Granddad smiled, “Any reason you're back so early?”

“Like I said, the Brahmin drive went better than expected.”

Granddad made a short hum of acknowledgment, “Oh yes, I must've forgotten.”

It wasn't something he was worried about with Granddad, he was always forgetting stuff, even when he had been growing up with Granddad, and probably even before he was born. Maybe even before Granddad had become a ghoul. He just forgot stuff sometimes, usually when he was overly excited, and only ever about minor details or things said in passing.

“I was going to talk to you about moving again, we should do it soon.”

Granddad seemed to be on the same page, for once, “I agree. The Legion was as close as Boulder City! They may have lost that battle, but who's to say they won't continue to press on?”

“I hear that the Legion occupies most of the Four States,” He told Granddad, “It's why all the Brahmin drives have been moving more and more westward.”

“That's terrible. I wonder if anything will stop their expansion.”

He shrugged, “Either they'll conquer all of the U.S, and keep going, or it's going to take a hell of a lot of people to take them down.”

“I'm sure that if the Brotherhood of Steel still existed, they'd team up with NCR.”

“They're all just crazy,” He grumbled, not bringing up the fact that there were also rumors that the Brotherhood had survived and were just hiding out somewhere after their defeat at HELIOS. The Brotherhood never did take kindly to Ghouls, and Granddad was the only person he could rely on in his life, so he didn't take kindly to the Brotherhood, or any talk of them.

Paulo wasn't very good at making or keeping friends, for who knew the reasons, so he'd never really fit into any groups. The gangs didn't appeal to him, he'd grown up with them intimidating money out of Granddad whenever they crossed paths, and the NCR were already stretched thin and to the breaking point – everyone knew that. If he were to enter into the service of the NCR, there was no guarantee where they'd send him, and he didn't much like the taxes that they imposed on those living in and around New Vegas.

“I heard there was a faction of Brotherhood on the other side of the Four States, going through the Plains and the Midwest. I'm sure it's all just a moldy can of cram though.”

“One can wish that at least somewhere, there's someone fighting the Legion. At least we have the NCR here,” Granddad hummed.

“Taxes will be hell this year.”

“I'm sure it will, but we'll get through. We always do.”

He nodded, “So, where were you thinking we should move? Because I was going to suggest -”

“New Vegas, yes, I know you would. You do every year,” Granddad hummed, “I'm not so sure, it's so dangerous there.”

“Everywhere is dangerous,” Paulo sighed, “What about that place, where you were born?”

“The New England Commonwealth?” Granddad laughed, “It's on the other side of the country.”

“I'm sure we could do it.”

He shook his head, “It's much too far away, and besides, the quickest way would be through Legion territory.”

Paulo shrugged, “We could go through the North, then through the Midwest.”

“You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?”

“Yes,” He admitted, “I just thought maybe you missed it.”

And maybe he'd do better with making friends and allies on the other side of the country. Nevada and South California just didn't really seem to like him, even though at least five generations of his family had been born and raised here.

“I do,” Granddad replied, “But we're in no shape to head across the country. It would take an extraordinary amount of supplies, then we'd have to buy a Brahmin to bear the load of it all.”

“We could,” He replied, “I can hunt for food, we have to on the Brahmin drive all the time. If we got a little Brahmin or Bighorner, it would be cheaper, and they wouldn't have to haul so much. If we buy 'em young, they'd be grown by the time we get there, then we can sell it.”

“And the dangers.”

“Maybe we could find some people who want to go East as well? I mean, with the Legion moving in, it's not really safe around here anymore.”

“We have the NCR.”

“The NCR can't compare their numbers to the Legion,” Paulo humphed, “I heard that they've got a thousand thousand slaves. It's just not safe as long as the Legion wants this land.”

“A thousand thousand is a _million_ , and I rather doubt they have that many. And why do they want this land anyways? Land is land, and going westward they'll hit the Pacific sooner rather than later,” Granddad grumbled, no one knew what a million was anymore.

“The dam, you know.”

Granddad groaned,“Yes, the damn dam, which supplies power to New Vegas and California, and literally _nowhere else_. The selfish cunts.”

He choked on a laugh, Granddad almost never cursed, so it was hilarious when the frail little coward of a ghoul did, “Which is why I suggested New Vegas. Let us have some light for once. Let us live somewhere that isn't a lean-to or an alleyway.”

“We don't have that kind of money.”

“I've got money, _now_ anyways. I impressed the ranch hands in the north, one of the other drivers were going to steal the herd, take all them Brahmin out to the North Commonwealth, and I stopped 'em. Gave me double what my pay was and double what the other drivers' pay was.”

“That seems a bit excessive for just that.”

“It was more than a hundred Brahmin, you know. Getting them from the North Commonwealth to north Nevada for the winter is hard work.”

“So many Brahmin,” Granddad said thoughtfully, that Brahmin primarily went to New Vegas, to the rich and the richer, “And how much is it that you made?”

“Three thousand.”

“ _Three thousand caps_?”

“Yeah.”

“That's _insane_!”

“We could move to Primm, if you'd like that better. I was thinking about leaving the drives, and going into that courier service they have out there,” He'd already done a few deliveries in between the drives, so that they could keep themselves afloat. It would be enough money, it didn't pay as well as herding Brahmin back and forth, but now that they had something of a baseline that they could live off of, it would certainly help until he could find something else. He was an excellent walker and long-distance runner, but his work up north left blisters on his blisters, and nearly every year he'd had to find new shoes. In this day and age, a good pair of boots were hard to find, and harder to keep from tearing apart during the rough work. The best ones were moccasins fashioned out of Brahmin hide by the old ranch hands, but they were expensive and hard to come by.

If he were lucky, he would find a dead Brahmin or Bighorner on the side of the road that hadn't already been torn to pieces by predators, and he could cut off a nice big slab of skin, and try to teach himself how to make a pair. It would certainly be handy to have a nice pair for once.

“Courier service in Primm?”

He nodded, “Yeah. I'll be able to stay closer, so I won't be gone for so long.”

“That would be great, but wouldn't being a courier be dangerous?”

“How dangerous can it be? There's a phrase you taught me: Don't shoot the messenger.”

Granddad hummed, not seeming to be placated at all, but Granddad was always worrying anyways, even when there was nothing to worry about.

 

 

_-November 9th, 2277-_

 

They didn't really have anything to carry with them, they never kept anything worth keeping, there were too many gangs or wannabe outlaws who could easily wave a dull knife and Granddad would give up everything he had.

They'd eaten the food up, so they wouldn't have to carry it all the way to Primm, and what was left was two sleeping bags, an oil lantern, and some extra clothes that Granddad had accumulated through the years. Granddad had a few old ratty books, but they were more sentimental than anything else.

Taking the west road out of Nipton he had to settle with a guard for an 'exit fee', which he gave up, mostly because he knew that Granddad would never want a confrontation, and it was just easier than having to beat the sense into them, especially since he was going to make sure that they'd never come back to this awful town, even if it meant refusing paying work.

As they walked the decayed highway, he thought to himself how he might convince Granddad to leave to New Vegas. He'd have to get a really good delivery that payed really well, but that was up to Lady Luck.

“So,” Granddad said when they were far enough away from Nipton that they were entirely alone. He could see the I-15 already, but it wasn't hard to spot it across the flat hot expanse, “When are you going to settle down?”

He shrugged, “You know I'm not very good at all that.”

“There's someone for everyone, you know,” Granddad smiled, “You'll find 'em.”

“What about you Granddad?” He changed the focus of the subject, “You're always by yourself when I'm gone. I worry, you know.”

“I know, you big worry-wart,” Granddad laughed, “Who'd want to be with me?”

“Another ghoul, maybe?”

“ _Maybe?_ ” He laughed at him again, “Am I ugly even for a ghoul?”

Granddad was teasing him, mostly because he was just terrible at making conversation, and Granddad knew that, “You know what I meant.”

“I know,” He smiled, “But don't worry about me. It's been so long since I've been in that sort of relationship.”

Paulo hummed. They had arrived where the freeway met the Interstate, and he could vaguely see Primms' roller-coaster along the horizon. He had a good feeling about moving to Primm.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Master Post](https://extra-dimensional-reconnaissance.blogspot.com/2017/05/all-roads-lead-somewhere-master-post.html) and [Gallery Post](https://extra-dimensional-reconnaissance.blogspot.com/2017/08/all-roads-lead-somewhere-gallery-post.html) on my Blogger has been updated.


	23. No Way Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Enclave arrive at the Jefferson Memorial.

James Rhodes Jr

-November 3rd, 2277-

 

He puked. Then gasped for air.

Jamie had always been more sensitive than most to radstorms, but he usually wasn't this sensitive. It didn't help much that they were eating crap constantly, or the fact that he'd been set to task to getting everything in the memorial up and running, like he was their goddamn engineer or something.

Madison Li was still pining for his Senior, for who knew what reason. He just didn't get it, his father was (objectively) the worst person. Maybe it wasn't so objectively after all, maybe there was something he missed. Or maybe all scientists were just terrible people.

He was leaning more towards that reason as he puked again into his bucket. The only reason he even had a bucket to puke in was so that he couldn't accidentally ruin any of their 'sensitive' equipment. One of the bastards even told him to shut up. He flipped them off, and made a mental note to make them eat their own teeth later.

After getting rid of everything in his stomach and dry heaving for probably a solid ten minutes, he was finally done with it all, and threw himself into his bed. Moments later (Because the universe couldn't even let him have a minute of peace), his father came in with some new task for him to do.

His ears were messed up, so he popped them with a yawn, then looked to his father, “What now?”

He sighed, “There's a blockage in one of the intake pipes, I need you to go clear it.”

Jamie groaned, they'd been running him ragged without so much as a 'please' or a 'thank you', and not even tacked on sarcastically. He sat up in the bed, “ _Fine_. Where is it?”

“You can access the pipes at the end of the first hallway, before the gift shop,” He replied, wincing and turning his nose up when he noticed the bucket of puke at the end of the bed.

“ _Fine_ ,” He said again, hefting himself up, and feeling sick, but there was nothing else he could feasibly force out of his body, so he staggered away and up to the main level of the memorial. He and his father traveled on foot for a few minutes, in complete silence, as his father was making his way back to the main chamber with the actual project in it.

He found the room he was supposed to go through, and stopped to smoke. He needed the stress relief that it provided, though he'd rather sex in its' place. After the cigarette, he sighed and descended into the pipe tunnels.

They were small, and cramped, and he went down them quickly, going through a gate and finding the pipe controls. It gave an excellent view of outside, and the dark green clouds that crowded around the area outside.

He stayed there a minute or two, so that he could put off having to report to his father, and he might have nodded off for a little bit. But then a sound caught his attention. Two vertibirds, that he could see at least, had landed just by the pipe he was in. Could it be the Brotherhood? His father had a somewhat good reputation with them, so if they were come to help them, then all the better.

He snuck through the rest of the pipe, and came back out in the underground section of the memorial.

Unbelievably, there were already soldiers in power armor there – but it wasn't the _Brotherhoods_ ' power armor.

They opened fired on him as soon as they spotted him, and he ran as quickly as he could. There was no way he'd be able to be lucky enough to kill them in their huge personal tanks. The soldiers began calling out orders and reports of him even as he dodged their laser fire and ducked down a corridor.

He moved quickly and dodged past the armored thugs with ease – the power armor made them slow. He rushed through, getting to where the scientists were being held at gunpoint in the rotunda. He squeezed himself in with them, and his sudden appearance was forgotten in the face of the soldiers' already successful intimidation.

Jamie could hardly hear what was going on, so he moved to the head of them, up the steps, ignored by the soldiers, and to where Li was standing. The thick doors were closed up tight.

“What are they talking about?” He whispered to her.

She peered around, and drew him away from the nearest soldier, “They say they're the Enclave.”

He watched as his father and another man talked while in the purifier, and suddenly the other scientist in there with him was shot through the head. He thought her name might be Janice, but the other scientists around him whimpered, one screamed. He still couldn't hear the conversation between his father and the man who was in charge.

His father put his hands up to placate the commander, and turned to the controls of the purifier.

“ _No_ ,” Madison breathed, “ _If he turns it on now-!_ ”

A jolt, it shook the walkway he and Madison were standing on. In a faraway part of his brain, he heard the huge stones grinding against each other in the shock, and felt dust rain down upon him. He couldn't take his eyes away from the chamber. The commander struggled for a moment, and fell, trying to get a hold of himself. His father dragged himself to the door, and he finally heard him.

“Run. _Run_!” His father collapsed against the glass.

The nearest soldier pulled his weapon, intent on killing the rest of the scientists, but Jamie was quicker with his pistol, and was close enough to him to accurately shoot him through the throat, where the power armor was weaker.

He grabbed the soldiers' assault rifle, and the scientists were all scrambling away from the rotunda. Li was trying to shepherd them in a direction, but not all of them listened. Jamie and a few of the other scientists followed her, there was an escape tunnel just outside the rotunda.

Gunshots and screaming could be heard some way away. Those who were unlucky enough to have not followed Madison would at least give them the time to get away. He was last to go through, keeping the assault rifle close to him in case any of the Enclave would see them, then he scrambled down the ladder, and replaced the manhole cover.

At the bottom, some of the scientists were whispering to each other, most of them were crying. Less than half an hour ago, he'd been puking his brains out, so he wasn't quite taking in everything as he probably should have. Some things seemed blurry at the edges, while others seemed to have an almost unreal acquity.

The image of his father, collapsed against the glass resurfaced, and he pulled it up to feed the fire of his anger. They may have not gotten along so well, but that didn't change the fact that he'd once been something like a father that he should have been. Even if he wasn't there much for the boy who was named after him, he'd been there for Ella. His sister was always a soft little spot, the years they'd spent apart he imagined what she'd be like, how they'd meet again after so many years, and reconnect and all that mushy family stuff. It helped when he was sleeping rough, when it was cold and he had nowhere to go.

Then they'd met, and it was with her gun leveled at his head. He could've laughed as he hadn't realized it before, but she was tough like him when it came down to it.

“What the _fuck_ is going on?” He asked Madison as they listened to the soldiers above continue to assess what had just happened, much like he was trying to do.

She sighed, “The systems were _overloaded_ , without the G.E.C.K it will be impossible to turn on the purifier, but James did.”

“ _And_? How the fuck did that cause him to die?”

“Without the G.E.C.K, all it can do it fill the chamber with radiation!” She explained, “ _Thousands_ of rads per second, all unleashed in an _instant_! It's a terrible wonder that James had even lasted that long!”

“And the _Enclave_? I thought they weren't real. I _thought_ it was just some _bozo_ in a bunker with a good radio signal and a bunch of eyebots!”

“They must not be,” Li told him, ushering people forward, “We need to move, these are escape tunnels that we've used once before.”

“Escape tunnels to where, exactly?” He asked, slotting himself as leader of this pack, in case there were mirelurks or ferals down in the tunnels.

“The citadel, the -”

He groaned, “To the Brotherhood? Why aren't they here, anyways?”

She shrugged.

He led them down into the tunnels, they were all useless, as they cried and mumbled to themselves.

An Enclave Eyebot heralded danger ahead. They were already in the tunnels. He shot it down, it would do no good to have everyone know their location with the sound of old world patriotic tunes. Through a door, and they were suddenly being fired upon.

He ducked out of the way, and when the shots stopped, for them to reload, he ducked back out and saw a man fumbling with his standard-issue laser rifle.

Jamie was glad that the soldier he'd taken the assault rifle from had something laser-y, he liked the idea of physical bullets ripping and tearing through the flesh of his enemies much better than burning them. And there was always the chance that it wouldn't be a fatal shot, and the heat from the laser would cauterize the wound, instead of letting them bleed out, or get an infection.

They exchanged fire, the soldier would shoot at the doorway, and Jamie would shoot at him while he was reloading. He must've finally got lucky, and they pressed on. Madison opened a door at the end of one corridor through a terminal.

Jamie descended down first, but the scientists began to file in quickly after him as the sounds of Enclave soldiers discovering their fallen comrade reached all their ears.

With shambling ferals ahead and the Enclave at their back, he aimed with as much accuracy as he could muster under the circumstances. Three, maybe four ferals he had to shoot down, though they didn't pose as much of a threat as the soldiers in power armor did – obviously.

Through doorways they sped through, until they came upon a generator room.

They could hear the Enclave soldiers above them, searching through the room from an upper level. Jamie pressed himself against the wall near the entrance.

“ _We have a problem_!” Madison whispered to him from the doorway at his side, eyes wide with fear.

“ _What?_ ” He hissed at her.

“ _Garza, he's got a heart condition-_ ”

He pulled out his med pack, which he kept all his stuff in, from stim-paks to his recreational drugs, and shoved it towards her, “ _Take what you need and shut the fuck up_.”

“ _And stay back,_ ” He added.

She went about helping whatever his name was, and he made a plan of action. He took a grenade from his belt – the only one he had – and went to where the edge of the upper walkway was. He pulled the pin, and tossed it up and back, clearing the walkway and settling above him.

Ducking back into the safety of beyond the doorway, he listened as the soldiers went to investigate what it was, then realizing it was what it was, tried to scramble away.

It detonated, and Jamie heard screams and grunts from above them, and he turned to the others, “Fucking _run_.”

They cleared the distance of the room quickly, and before the surviving soldiers could muster themselves to attack, they were clear of the opposite door. Sounds of them firing reached their ears as they had already passed.

The sounds of the Enclave radio station up ahead didn't bode well for them, and Jamie was so done with all of this shit. Through another door and the sweet sounds of Three-Dog and the sight of a man in Brotherhood armor finally greeted them.

The Brotherhood soldiers' mini-gun took care of whatever else that was following them through the tunnels as they were directed towards the exit of the tunnels. It was there, in the green darkness, that he saw the Citadel.

Li hysterically called for their leader, an old man named Lyons, and they were escorted in and shown to some make-shift beds, where Jamie promptly passed out.

 

 

_-November 4th, 2277-_

 

Jamie awoke, still feeling sick, but also _starving_. Some food had been left near his bunk for him, and he wolfed it down, and nearly puked it back up, but he forcefully kept it down. He sat in bed, not wanting to move but also knowing that if he were to stay all he'd do was wallow in what had just transpired. Had his father really just died a handful of hours ago? Was it true the Enclave actually existed? Was this all just a nasty dream or a bad jet trip?

He stood, his head spun and everything ached all at once. No, it wasn't a dream.

Wishing it was, he made his way to the door, and exited the room, finding there was a young Brotherhood scribe waiting for him. The bony scribe led him to some sort of meeting room, a large table was laid out, and Elder Lyons and Madison Li were positioned on the very other side of the room, talking quietly.

“Here he is,” Elder Lyons smiled, probably hoping for some equal congeniality, “The son of Doctor Rhodes.”

He shook the old mans' hand forcing a smile. He was terrible at convincing ones, “James Rhodes, Jr.”

The old man smiled in return, either having not picked up on his obviously fake smile or just ignoring it, “We were talking about the steps we can do to secure Project Purity.”

“Well, I guess I better leave you two to it,” He said, about to spin on his heel and leave the Citadel behind forever.

“We were hoping for your help,” Madison cut in.

“With _what_?” He wasn't a scientist or a soldier, he didn't really see how he could contribute to this in any possible way.

“The G.E.C.K,” She said, “Your father said that he'd found one before... before...”

“Go on.”

“Well, he said he'd found one. We don't know where it is, he didn't divulge it to me anyway, but Elder Lyons thinks that perhaps they know where to find one.”

“And?” He looked between the two of them, “Just send a couple of Brotherhood soldiers to get it then.”

“Our numbers are not what they used to be-”

“No.”

“But it would surely be a benefit for all of man-kind and-”

“ _No_.”

“Junior, please,” Madison begged, “I think that the Enclave are watching the Citadel. They're expecting either that we'll attack them, or that a squad of Brotherhood soldiers will be sent to get the G.E.C.K, and then follow them to it.”

“So what if they have a G.E.C.K? Wouldn't the end product be the same anyways? Purified water?”

“Then why would the Enclave want to take it over in the first place?” Elder Lyons asked, “Unless they have evil intentions?”

“Or unless they just want to hog all the credit?” He pointed out to the two of them, “Think how good of a standing the Enclave will have if they're giving out purified water. They already think they're the old-world U.S Government.”

“We don't know their intentions,” Madison said, “They could become a dictatorship for all of the Capital Wasteland.”

“ _Oh no_ ,” He faked shock, “The Capital Wasteland, ruled by _Dictators_? Surely that is worse than the monsters, the raiders, the slavers, Talon, and the wasteland _itself_ trying to kill us.”

“I'm serious, Jamie,” Li frowned at him, “We don't know anything about them besides this 'President' of theirs and his radio station. Who are they? Where have they been hiding? They come to take over a Project nobody has even heard of before? And they do so with guns and vertibirds? Against unarmed scientists?”

“So what?” Jamie threw his hands up in the air, “I don't _care_!”

This time he did turn on his heel, the two of them muttered behind his back in harsh tones as he went. Li stopped him as his hand closed around the doorknob.

“We'll pay you!”

_Now_ he was interested. Jamie turned and stalked back across the room. They were desperate, and that's where he liked his employers.

“How much are we talking?”

Elder Lyons and Madison Li shared a look, then the Elder said, “We can give you six-hundred now-”

He chuffed.

“Afterwards, we'll give you what we can. If we can defeat the Enclave, you'll have first pick of weaponry and armor.”

The pay would be terrible, but he was a gambling man, and if the Enclave had access to laser weapons, power armor, and vertibirds, then it was likely they were at least as technologically advanced as the Brotherhood was, or even better. Tech and weapons weren't the only valuable things in the world either, as the Enclave would surely have some pre-war records that were kept around. He imagined hidden bunkers full of weapons and supplies and food and pre-war purified water stashed away, with no one knowing about them except for the people who were sitting on the information of the whereabouts for a bad winter or something like that.

“Sure.”

The two of them smiled at him.

He continued, “But, I want at least one volunteer with me, a week of rations and water each, and a mini-gun.”

Elder Lyons frowned, and narrowed his eyes down at him. He was desperate though, because if anyone was going to be the new government of the U.S, it was going to be the Brotherhood.

“Yes,” He agreed, “Though I cannot promise anyone will volunteer.”

He spun on his heel, “Of course someone will volunteer. Who wouldn't want to be part of a heroic duo and save the Capital Wasteland?”

He spun on his heel again, so that he was facing back towards the Elder and the scientist, then he grabbed his battered map out of his inside pocket and handed it off, “And mark where the damn thing is on the map.”

Spinning again, he began his trek down the room and towards the door.

“What are you going to do?” Madison called out to him.

“ _I'm_ going to bed,” He said over his shoulder, “If the Enclave are watching the Citadel, then obviously I'm leaving under the cover of darkness.”

 

Hours later, at dusk, made even more dark by the continuing storm, he emerged from his room again. At least it wasn't raining. What greeted him when he was taken to the conference room were not one, but _two_ volunteers.

He remembered Cross, and the other one was introduced as Sarah Lyons. His map was handed back over to him, and a bag full of the food and water he was promised. The mini-gun was on the table.

“I was joking about the mini-gun,” He said, as they were left to talk over what their plan was before they were to leave the citadel, “That shit's too heavy for me to carry.”

“It wouldn't be so if you were wearing power-armor,” Sarah Lyons said.

“No power-armor,” He said to them, “You should both take yours off.”

The two Paladins looked to each other, then back at him, “Excuse me?” Sarah asked.

“I said no power-armor. It's a dead giveaway.”

“And what if we run into trouble?” Sarah questioned, worried about the dangers of the wasteland.

“I'm planning on avoiding trouble, by not advertising that two of the three of us are Brotherhood.”

Sarah didn't look convinced, but Cross disengaged from her power-armor, and stepped out from it. The younger Paladin hesitated, but did the same.

He smiled to himself. This was good, they were _really_ desperate to be the ones to take all the credit. The Elders' own daughter and bodyguard were coming willingly with him to certain death, all for the glory of it all.

“There any armor around here that isn't brotherhood uniforms?”

The two were in nothing but nearly skin-tight flight suits, “No.”

“Then we should get out to Megaton as quickly as possible. Don't worry, I know a short-cut.”

 

- _November 5th, 2277_ -

 

It was nearly dawn when they arrived at Megaton, Star Paladin Cross and Sarah Lyons were covered in mud, blood, and dark expressions. It had rained off and on during the night, and the fog had limited their vision of what could be sneaking around them. They'd heard super-mutants, mirelurks, and complaining raiders, and somehow blindly got past most of them.

So Megaton was a nice sight to see after their long journey.

“That wasn't a short-cut at all,” Sarah complained.

Jamie ignored her, and led the two of them through the first gates. Stockholm up in the crows nest must not have recognized him in the dark, but Jamie hoped that they could be in and out before he or the Sheriff were the wiser.

They stopped for a moment, it was mostly to catch their breath from the run and the rain, and Sarah seemed ready to complain about getting a move on. That was, before Cross began to speak. It was the first she had spoken since he'd walked into the room to find them waiting for him.

“I'm glad to see you alive,” She said simply, in the stern motherly (it was more aunt-ly to him most of the time when he'd been growing up) voice of hers.

Sarah looked between the two with wide eyes.

He offered a half-laugh and a shrug, “I inherited my mothers' ability to navigate junkyards.”

He led the two Paladins the way he knew towards Moira's shop, slipping on the uneven footing every once in awhile. The door was locked, and he pounded on the door to wake her ass up. A little bit of shouting, and the woman with mussed up dark red hair appeared in the doorway.

“I've got caps,” He said, before she could complain at him, “And I plan to spend a _lot_.”

Moira frowned, not her usual chipper self. She was definitely not a morning person, but she let them in. She was wearing some small nightie, and the two women (unbelievably) turned their heads and made a big deal out of making sure not to even look in the direction of her ass.

Moira's bodyguard, equally tired, set himself up at a doorway.

“What is it that you want?” She said with a yawn, her bubbly voice starting to come through as she began to wake up.

“Armor.”

She looked between them, and began to pull out pieces. They were well-repaired, and Sarah and Cross began to pick out pieces that fit them. Cross had wider shoulders, so she needed a larger chest piece, but it was easy to find in what Moira had.

He shelled out the money that was promised, adding more to the pile to make Moira happy that she'd gotten up for this.

“I don't get many Brotherhood of Steel members here,” She said, smile on her face, “How would you describe the organization? I'm writing a book on how to survive the wasteland.”

Sarah seemed to swell at the idea of it, and began talking about it happily, “A lot of people see us as hoarders of pre-war technology, but we also collect pre-war literature. It's more of the preservation of the information of the past, so that we can learn from it. If we could prevent something like another Great War, then why shouldn't we?”

Moira seemed to cheer up at the conversation, and began penning what Sarah was saying as quickly as the words were coming out of the Paladins' mouth. Cross was still trying on different chest pieces, looking for the 'right' one.

“We aim for peace,” Sarah told her. He rolled his eyes, unseen by anyone, and began to look through whatever else Moira had in her stores while he waited for the two to conclude the conversation and for Cross to finally choose which goddamn chest piece fit her better.

It took at least twenty minutes, and he ended up buying stimpaks and chems, to replace the med-kit he hadn't gotten back from Madison Li. When they were leaving, people were coming out and starting their day. Gob passed them, and the two Paladins sneered at him, causing him to jump out of their way and head the other direction.

He thanked God that they didn't run into Sheriff Simms as they walked out, but then immediately took it back when they passed the gates of Megaton to see him standing there just ahead of them.

Simms wasn't immediately facing them, but turned, and frowned when he spotted Jamie.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just came to see Moira for some armor. I intended to be gone already.”

Simms frowned, “Just another pain today.”

“Hm?”

“The Enclave,” he gestured over his shoulder, “Or at least I _think_ it's the Enclave. They _say_ they are.”

Jamie looked over Simms' shoulder, there were a group of Enclave soldiers talking near a vertibird that had landed some distance away, down the hill, but still visible.

“What did _they_ want?”

“They were trying to requisition some supplies, I told them no.”

Jamie nodded, “And how did they take it?”

Simms shrugged, “Could have been better. You just have to be firm with them. I don't allow anyone to try to strong-arm us into giving them what they want. We're a free town, of free peoples.”

He watched the scene down the hill closely. It seemed they were calling in through some sort of radio, “You got a radio?”

“Who doesn't?”

“I need to borrow it.”

Simms narrowed his eyes, and was about to speak, then he interrupted the Sheriff.

“It's important, I promise.”

He nodded, and took them back to his home, just inside the gates of Megaton. Cross and Sarah were grumbling all the way, wanting either to go on their way or to take down the small troop of Enclave and requisition their vertibird.

Jamie was shown the radio, and he fiddled with it a moment before getting on the frequency the Enclave was using.

“ _-refused,_ ” The speaker said.

“ _They refused?_ ” The other end asked.

“ _Yes._ ”

“ _Hold._ ”

There was silence for a few minutes, then the other side of the conversation came back, “ _President Eden has given the order. Make an example out of them._ ”

There was a moment of stillness, like a still pool of water. It broke and Sheriff Simms jumped up and ran to the door, calling for Stockholm the entire way. Sarah began to ready herself for combat. Jamie looked up from the radio, and shared a look with Cross. In an instant they both figured out what was likely to come from this threat.

They both jumped towards the door, calling for Simms to come back, as he went about making battle preparations with his sniper.

“No! Sound the alarm! Evacuate!” Cross was shouting.

Simms stopped in his tracks, turning to look at them, realization slowly dawning on him as they began to hear the engine of the Vertibird starting up.

“There's an old pre-war air raid siren in the water processing plant! It's that one, over there!” He pointed it out to him.

“I'll go. Tell as many people as possible, and hurry.”

Jamie turned and ran, seeing that Cross and Sarah had departed in opposite directions to inform the town, as Simms began to scream up at Stockholm to shoot the gunner in the vertibird.

 

 

Ella Rhodes

- _November 5th, 2277_ -

 

Ella got up earlier than usual, and went downstairs and out the door to see the clouds. They were such a strange color, and it was still a little novel to her. The rain didn't bother her, but it seemed to be almost painful for anyone other than her and Charon to stand out in it.

Charon was there with her, of course. He'd been much more prevalent in his supposed duties as a bodyguard for her. He stuck by her closer, and seemed to be more on edge. She'd kissed him, but it didn't seem like he at all reacted to it. He didn't at the time, and he never called to attention to it or brought it up. She had to assume he just wasn't interested then. The way his hands lingered on her whenever he had to touch her must just be in her imagination then.

Twenty minutes at most was what she was allowed outside, apparently, as Charon pulled her back inside and out of the sprinkling rain.

Breakfast was done, and they all sat down to eat. Butch was nearly done, and the rest of them had about half of their breakfasts, when they were interrupted by a large booming sound, and the entire house rattling.

“Under the table,” Charon commanded and they all dropped down to the floor instantly. She curled up as tightly as she could, and Charon covered her with the bulk of his body. Dogmeat whined, but joined them under the table. Pots and pans rattled until they fell from their places, as well as the plates of breakfast that had been on the table. She heard one of the boards that were nailed across a window in the living room fall to the ground.

 

Minutes later, the shaking stopped, and they rose up slowly, “What the hell was that?” Butch asked.

“Nuclear detonation,” Charon responded.

Ella shared a look with Cassidy. There was only one nuclear bomb that they knew of, and it sat in the middle of a populated town. They rushed out of the house, the other three trailing after them quickly.

Off in the distance, towards the direction of Megaton, was a huge mushroom cloud. The radstorm had been swept away from it, leaving it almost clear around the area, and easier to see from the distance they were at. It had even pushed the green clouds away from their own location, leaving the sky bare and blue.

“It's Megaton,” Cassidy gasped from beside her.

They stared off into the distance, a thousand questions on their minds. The mushroom cloud stayed for a long time, but began to blow itself out. Charon shepherded them all in, in case the fallout of the bomb were to blow towards them, and add more rads to their already rad-filled weather.

There wasn't much of a chance that anyone in the vicinity survived it.

 


	24. Resettled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The outcome of Megaton

James Rhodes Jr

- _November 5th, 2277_ -

 

There was screaming, both of fear and of pain, that rang through the air, only slightly louder than the ringing of his ears. He'd just gotten to the Springvale school when the blast had occurred, and he threw himself past the double doors. There were a few people already inside, shrieking with panic and people just behind him scrambling inside just after him.

Dust was forced in, and with it were the rads he felt like pin-pricks against his skin. He got up and stumbled further into the school to better shield himself from the radiation. He found a secluded stairwell, and sat himself down on the last step. It was at least quiet here, away from the screaming and the crying.

His ears were still ringing.

Minutes – hours? Days? He didn't know how long later, but a hand shook his shoulder, and offered him a bottle of some sort of liquid. Jamie drank half of the bottle, he was more thirsty than he'd thought, and licked away the moisture from his lips.

He looked up, it was Cross, her skin and hair and new and make-shift armor now the same color of dusty gray. Sweat was dropping across her face, making her dark skin peak out in vertical lines.

“What's happened?”

“Megaton is gone,” She said.

“Yes, I know that, but what has happened since then?”

“We don't know how many people got out, we're still helping the injured,” She replied solemnly.

“How many survived so far?”

“Ten, maybe. We don't know if anyone else who got out holed up somewhere else.”

“Aren't many other places to hide.”

“I know. We're still holding out hope,” Cross said, “There's no supplies. Someone got some water out of the town before it blew, but not much else.”

He groaned, the storms of the late months had already arrived, and there wouldn't be any caravans running this way anytime soon because of the blast, even if it wasn't November.

“We need rad-away desperately,” She continued without a reply from him.

That was right, without it they would be dying of radiation poisoning or turning to ghouls. He dug out his new collection of chems out of his bag and handed all of them off to her. There were two bottles of rad-aways, enough pills to split out to at least hold off any death or ghoulification for the moment. He remembered there being a few stim-paks and med-x, but he didn't know how many, or what else he had in there. He couldn't focus.

Cross left, and he stood, swaying on his feet momentarily to get acclimated to the new position. He walked to the front entrance, the first room had been cleared of whatever had been there before, and there were people laid out on mattresses that had been scavenged from inside the building.

Half were moaning, most were crying, and Cross, Sarah, and two kids, one he assumed was Simms' son and the other was a girl that was the boys' age, went through the victims, giving what they could and helping where they could. The doors were closed, and the door handles had been wrapped up with a chain that might have been from somewhere deeper in the school.

Gob was the only person he recognized, and the ghoul was huddled into a corner by himself. He went to him, and sat nearby.

“Do you know many of these people?” Jamie asked him.

Gob nodded, opening his mouth as if to speak, but then closing and swallowing thickly. Jamie handed over the bottle of whatever liquid he'd been given over to Gob, it was likely that Cross was too busy to think of a ghoul first, and Sarah was probably too wary of him.

He gulped down the liquid, finished it. Gob was holding the bottle close to him as though it were a lifeline.

“Maggie and Harden are in the best shape,” He commented, “Bein' kids they were the first ones hauled out. You have Miss Lyons to thank for that.”

“Everyone else?”

Gob shook his head, he guessed to clear his head more than anything, “I don't see Doc Church, or Billy Creel. Jenny's in bad condition, I don't think she's going to make it. Jericho's also pretty badly wounded, he took some shrapnel to his gut, but I think he'll get through. Stockholm has a broken leg, I think, and Walter's lost his left arm up to his elbow.”

He winced.

“Now that I think about it, I haven't seen Andy or Leo Stahl either. Or Moira...” He sighed, “Or Nova.”

There was silence for a little while.

“Do you think there's still survivors out there?” Gob asked him, his eyes glazing over as he looked through the room crammed full of people groaning and crying.

“Not likely,” He said. Anyone still out there would be too irradiated to have survived a few minutes.

The two of them sat in the silence between them, the only sounds were the crying and moaning throughout the room, the clicking of heels from the two paladins and two children, and the strange sounds of the post-blast ambiance that was hanging around outside.

At least those who were still in Megaton had died quickly, as he watched the woman who must've been Jenny moaning in semi-conscious pain, wriggling on her blood stained mattress, not knowing where she was, but still awake enough to know the terrible things that had happened to her.

He looked away, her wounds too horrifying to even try to comprehend just how much pain she would be in if she were in a more conscious state. Flesh rent from muscle and muscle from bone, and blisters that covered her entire body. Sarah was pouring all of her time into Jenny, both their faces were deadly white beneath the ash, for two different reasons. The children were kept far away from the corner that held her.

The Children of Atom were probably happy now though, if their ghosts were still around, or if they were in some rad-soaked afterlife of their religion.

 

It was hours and hours later when he and Cross opened the doors and stuck their heads out into the ruins of Springvale, still roughly the same as it was before. There was still a thick layer of dust hanging over the neighborhood, and it was impossible to see.

“Gas masks?” He asked the Paladin as they ducked back into the school.

“I found some, but they're not in very good condition. They were pre-war issue for the school, so there's mostly childrens' masks.”

He hummed, she showed him the masks she and one of the children had procured from some decrepit supply closet. He picked one out and put it on, then snuck out into the wastes.

Jamie stumbled around by mostly memory, looking for any bodies that would need to be buried, and if anyone was still alive. If they were, they would either be ghoulified by this time, or they would be begging for the sweet relief of death, in which case he was prepared with the pistol he had in the holster at his side. It would be better this way, with him doing this, to keep the two kids from knowing that there was much worse than lying on dirty and bloody mattresses in so much pain you couldn't keep consciousness.

Searching through, he finally heard something other than the weird after-explosion sounds (It reminded him of the strange creaking in Rivet City, or something he'd hear down in the old subway tunnels. It was like the walls had voices of their own, and they cried about the end of the world sometimes too).

But there it was, crying. Almost-quiet sobbing, coming from _somewhere_.

Jamie followed the sounds, and came upon the Nuka Cola machine. Hiding behind it was Moira, already very much a ghoul. He touched her on the shoulder gently, knowing (from being told by others throughout the years) that she would be very sensitive during the first hours or even days after the process.

She looked up at him, her big eyes full of tears.

“Who're you?” She asked.

He had the gas mask on, he just remembered, “It's Jamie. Ella's brother. I bought from you this morning.”

“Oh,” She sniffed, “What happened? All I heard was the siren. I went as quick as I could, but I don't know how far I got.”

“You're in Springvale,” He told her, “The Enclave blew up the bomb.”

She pouted, “The Enclave?”

He nodded, “Simms refused to give them supplies. Can you walk?”

She shook her head and cried some more, “My legs and my feet hurt so much.”

“You've become a ghoul,” He said, “It'll hurt now, but it'll get better later.”

“I'm a ghoul?” She asked, “Am I really?”

He nodded, “I'm going to carry you back to the school, but it's going to hurt.”

She nodded in return, her voice tired and cracking, “Okay.”

With one hand under her knees, and one hand around her back, he lifted her from her spot on the ground with a considerable amount of struggle. She cried with pain, but she didn't bawl or scream, and he was thankful as it would have been even more difficult for him to get her from her hiding spot to the school.

The trip didn't take that long, and it was quiet. He let her down gently as soon as they were inside, placing her on an open mattress. Sarah's eyes were impossibly wide, standing there as though she were a radstag doe caught in a trap.

Gob came over to her, and wrapped her up in the blanket he'd been huddling down in. If anyone knew what she was going through, it was him. The children, though surprised that she was a ghoul now, were just happy that Moira was alive. She was one of their favorite adults, and they came to surround her and ask if she needed anything.

He turned and plunged himself back into the dusty aftermath.

 

There was no one else to be saved, and mercifully, there was no one to be put down. He couldn't identify anyone though, even if he'd known them – those that had lost their lives were either skinny red and black husks, blackened skeletons, or nothing more than a black spot on the ground where they'd been hit by the blast.

It left this small group of people without food or water or a home, and it left the two children of Megaton orphans. Maggie seemed to be used to it – Billy Creel wasn't her real father, just an old caravan hand who was raising her after her parents' murder. But Harden Simms wasn't taking it too well, if his sobs from another room were anything to go by.

Sarah and Maggie were keeping up what they could, hoping against hope that Jenny would pull through, as Jericho was starting to make a recovery from his own wounds. Walter was thirsty, but they could only offer him some dirty water, and gave him some extra rad-away as he drunk.

He and Cross stood a ways away, looking over the carnage. Eleven people had survived, and that included themselves.

“What the fuck do we do?” He asked her. Jamie legitimately had no idea what should be done in this sort of situation. He wasn't a hero or a doctor or a soldier or anything like that. He wasn't a priest to give them comfort.

“We can't leave them here with nothing,” She said, “There's a vault nearby.”

“The one my father and Ella went to?”

“Yes,” Cross said, “Surely your sister can vouch for you.”

He shook his head, “She's not in the vault. She's up in some place called Minefield. It's not even considered a settlement, so I doubt that even the Enclave would bother going through it.”

“Could we maybe take them up to Minefield?” She suggested, “How far away is it?”

“Too far for this lot,” He said, “Not without supplies anyways, and I don't think Ella and her group'd have enough food and water to take on eight more people. How close is the vault?”

“Very close,” Cross replied, “Ten minute walk at most, and that's including the slow-down of carrying the injured.”

“That is close,” He hummed, “But that also includes if we can convince them to take them all in.”

“Why wouldn't they?” Cross replied harshly, he'd heard the tone a few times when he was young, when she'd caught him taking snack cakes he wasn't allowed to have, “Who would turn the injured and the sick away at their doorstep?”

He shrugged, “Vault dwellers are weird people. I don't know if you've met any.”

“No.”

“I met a guy from out west who was part of a vault,” He replied, “They were all sorts of crazy, apparently.”

“We don't know about this one,” Cross pointed out, “They could not be crazy.”

“That's the thing... we _don't_ know.”

 

While the two of them were gearing up to go have a look at this vault, Doc Church shuffled into the school while coughing. Every eye in the room was on him in an instant.

“I passed the school, and ran all the way down to the river,” He explained, as the doctor crossed the room and looking in on Jenny first, “I was half of halfway to Arefu when I realized y'all'd convened on the school.”

He coughed again, then turned to his work.

Jamie was a little more relieved that they now had an actual doctor, and the survivor count of the Megaton explosion had gone from eleven to twelve.

 

Sarah stayed behind to play assistant with Doc Church and babysit the children, as he and Cross walked up some goddamn hill. They rose above the layer of dust that had settled around the bombed-out city like a fog, and could see that the blast had cleared out a large amount of the storm clouds that had been overhead. They'd reform though, soon enough.

Then the rain would come, but not the rain they were used to, not even the stinging rain from radstorms – there would be black rain, that could eat holes through clothing and hair and the top layers of your skin.

Cross came to the entrance, a little door in the side of the mountain made of wood and chain-link. They opened it and descended down into the cave, the vault door, emblazoned with the bold numbers 101 in faded yellow, loomed ahead of them.

There was a panel, and he experimentally tapped a few buttons, then a voice came over the speaker.

“ _Who's there?_ ”

He jumped nearly out of his skin. Cross rolled her eyes at him, and then spoke into the speaker.

“I'm Star Paladin Cross, of the Brotherhood of Steel. With me is James Rhodes Junior, and we've both come on behalf of the survivors of Megaton.”

“ _What's happened?_ ” The voice on the other end asked, “ _And did you say James Rhodes? What's_ _ **he**_ _doing here?_ ”

“Junior. I'm James Rhodes _Junior_ ,” He said into the speaker, “I'm Ella's _brother_.”

“ _Ella doesn't_ _ **have**_ _a brother._ ”

Cross turned to him, narrowing her eyes, “What does she mean Ella doesn't _have_ a brother? I've known the both of you since you were a baby.”

“Dad didn't talk about me, _apparently_. When we first met, she nearly put a bullet between my eyes for even suggesting that I was.”

Cross frowned, “I'll never understand scientists.”

“Me neither,” He turned back to the speaker, “It's a long story. But the people of Megaton need your help.”

“ _With what? Who're they?_ ”

“They're – _were_ – your closest neighbors,” He explained, “A nuclear detonation occurred, there's only nine of them that survived.”

“They need food and water and medical supplies urgently,” Cross interrupted him.

“Yeah.”

There was a pause on the other end, “ _And?_ ”

He sighed and rolled his eyes. It was just their luck, “They need shelter for the winter.”

“ _We're not currently allowing anyone in the vault. We plan on opening the vault next February._ ”

Cross was getting more and more angry nearby him. He decided against saying 'I told you so', since she was strong enough to probably rip his head clean off of his body. He made it a habit to not piss off cyborgs.

“Then maybe you could just give them some food to survive through the winter?” He said to the speaker, “Or even just enough rad-away for them to get to another settlement?”

“ _Opening the vault door will put us at a disadvantage,_ ” The voice on the other end said, “ _You could be trying to trick us and take over the vault._ ”

He groaned, turned and kicked a rock the other way. Cross was standing stock still and stewing in what must have been a blend of hatred and anger.

Jamie spun back around to accost the speaker on the control panel, “ _You're_ the ones who're going to open the door to do trade with the rest of the wasteland, so then why are you shunning people who could help you, who already have connections to trade routes and know the caravans already?”

There was silence on the other end for a long time. Then it was clear that they weren't going to reply.

He swore under his breath, “We might as well take them up to Minefield then.”

“It will be slow going,” She reminded him, “With more of us and the weather.”

“And the mud,” He sighed, “But mud can only slow us down so much, it can't stop us.”

They turned and left the cave and were halfway down the hill when they heard the high pitched screaming of a vault door coming loose from its' place and sliding out of the way. The two of them scrambled back up the slope, but he tripped and fell, and when they'd gotten up to the door and thrown it open, the vault door was already closing.

There at the base of the door though, were two boxes.

He and Cross came to inspect them. One was full of food, the other was filled half with bottles of purified water (Thank God), and half with rad-away and stimpaks. Jamie grabbed one box, Cross had the other.

“Thank you,” She said into the speaker on the control panel. They scrambled back out of the cave with the supplies like thieves in the night. It only took a few minutes to get back down to the school.

The number of those who had survived the Megaton nuke had gone from twelve back down to eleven.

 

- _November 6th, 2277_ -

 

Jamie slept fitfully, and in the morning, the dust had mostly cleared, leaving only enough to make it look like thin brown fog, but the clouds overhead had reformed and covered the landscape with a thick semi-darkness. He and the two Brotherhood Paladins got up early, and went about burying the dead where they could find them. Some people, who hadn't made it out of the blast radius, left no bodies at all.

Jenny was wrapped up in an old stiff sheet (it might have been a tarp), and she was taken out to the playground in front of the school and buried. There was a short eulogy for both her and all of the victims of Megaton. And a full minute of silence for all of the people that they couldn't put to rest.

Jericho straight up refused to walk all the way out to Minefield, and wandered off in the direction of Arefu just after the service was done. Cross and Sarah made an attempt to talk him out of it, but Jamie noticed that nobody else did, and tried to assure them that he'd be fine. Arefu, even though it wouldn't be able to support every survivor of Megaton, was just a short distance away. He'd be there just after lunch, even with a still-healing wound. Doc Church had made sure he had given him enough stimpaks to heal the wound and enough med-x to dope up a deathclaw.

Their group had gone from eleven to ten, with the retreating form of Jericho.

Sarah made the preparations, and they set out north, going the way he knew, half-blind to their environment from the post-bombing fog and the dark November clouds that were obscuring the sun. It was slow going, and even slower, he realized, when they got to the river. It had swollen up with the rains of the past however long it had been raining. He hadn't been keeping track of the weather, or the calendar.

They got themselves halfway across the river along the rocks and wreckages of old-world automobiles, then Cross had to escort everyone else through the second half of the river.

She was amazingly sure-footed, even without her bulky power-armor. Sarah went across first, so that she could protect the other side as those who were less able to defend themselves came after. Jamie went between watching for threats behind them and watching Cross go back and forth. The children went first, then Doc Church, then Walter. Stockholm had to be carried across, and so was Moira, who could barely walk on her own. Then Gob came last, before himself of course.

At the other end of the bank, they stopped to rest under the half-demolished bridge, and ate a little. The rain was going between a light sprinkle to fat sparse drops of water. None of it was black rain, so the radiation was likely being blown south. Hopefully.

And hopefully whatever settlements were to the south of Megaton knew well enough to hide for their lives. He knew that Tenpenny Tower was down that way, but nobody ever went out of doors except for the assholes in Security anyways.

They continued on, but it was nearing dark, and they weren't even close to the junkyard yet. Everyone was tired, but it would be more dangerous at night than during the day, so they pressed on. He and Gob took turns carrying Moira, who was in continued and constant pain, even with the last of the med-x that she'd been given she was only half-numb. He hoped that Ella would have some more of it, for Moira's sake.

He hoped that Ella wasn't going to kill him for bringing all of these people to her without warning.

 

They finally made it to the junkyard, just an hour after sunset, and he quickly went through and scavenged up a lantern while the others were resting.

“Can't we stop for the night?” Maggie asked.

“We're almost there,” He told the kid, “Half hour, at most. Could probably see it in the light if there was any.”

That seemed to lift everyone's spirits, and even though they were tired and injured, they pulled themselves together and pressed on after their rest. There was still a light on in the house Ella and her friends were holed up in, strangely enough, but he wasn't going to look a gift stag in the mouth, so they all shambled on up to the front door.

The turret clicked softly beside the door, not seeing them as any threat. He wondered just how turrets knew who was friend and who was an enemy.

He knocked heavily on the door, and what little sound there had been before was cut off. The lantern inside went out.

Jamie waited a few minutes, but there seemed to be no movement. They were trying to wait out whoever it was. He rolled his eyes to himself, if they were raiders or Talon, they wouldn't have knocked.

“Ella!” He called, “It's Jamie!”

There was some movement, and then the door opened, Ella's face peeking out.

“Jamie? What're you doing here?”

“Need your help, El.”

Her eyes wandered over the group, and widened. She let them in. Doc Church immediately requisitioned their living room for use as an infirmary. Moira was bundled up on the couch, made to be as comfortable as she could possibly be. Gob was nearby her, there for Moira as emotional support, he supposed, as he knew how difficult it was.

Walter and Stockholm were set in chairs opposite the couch, where he'd seen the twins usually sat at. Walter needed his wounds cleaned, where his arm had been blasted off, and Stockholm needed another stimpak to promote the healing of his bone. The splint had clunked against nearly everything as they had come through the door of the house, but Stockholm didn't complain about any pain at all. There was some med-x brought out when Doc Church asked if there was any in the house, a healthy dose given to Moira, Walter, and Stockholm.

He, the two Paladins, Ella, and some of her group, sat in the kitchen, around the table. Ella's friend Cassidy brought out water for them, and then began to bring the water out to the living room to help the others drink with the help of her brother. It seemed they were in tune with the fact that something terrible was about to be revealed, and they didn't want any part of it.

The kid – Watson – was a silent observer, having put themself into a corner.

“How did Megaton blow up?” Ella stared at him, without any accusation in her eyes, though he had expected it.

“The Enclave.”

She puzzled for a moment, “Like... the radio station?”

He nodded, he looked down at the table, as if it could hold all the answers, “I thought they weren't real, I really didn't think they were.”

It was silent, only broken when Ella sighed, “What's going on? Why are you here? Where's-”

“Dad's dead,” He said solemnly, he was never good at breaking bad news, so it was better to be blunt about it.

A sharp inhale, and he looked up at her. Her eyes were wide, shocked, at the news. She stood suddenly and went upstairs. Charon followed her.

“There wasn't a better way you could do that?” Sarah snapped at him.

“No,” He sighed.

Jamie stood from the table, and went to find a corner to curl up in to get as much sleep as he could.

 

 

Ella Rhodes

_-November 7th, 2277-_

 

Ella got up much earlier than usual, and a lot of it had to do with hardly being able to sleep that night in the first place. She dressed herself quickly, Cassidy was still asleep, and so was Watson, if the snores from what had been a bathroom were anything to go by.

She grabbed her sniper rifle, a knife, and some bags, and descended down the stairs. Charon had already been awake and followed her down. Everyone in the living room were asleep, the only ones who were lucky enough to get a blanket were Moira, Harden, and Maggie; the two children had to share their blanket.

So she crept out of the house as quietly as she could, Charon turning into nothing more than a phantom and slipping through as unnoticed as she had been. The rain wasn't as bad today, and though it was muddy, she didn't really care at the moment.

She turned to him “Do you remember where the Rad Beast was last?”

“Yao Guai,” He corrected, “Yes.”

She hummed, “I thought maybe everyone might appreciate something fresh. Could you take me to where it was?”

Ella hadn't remembered, even though she'd been the one who spotted it in the first place, and she followed Charon up the hill opposite their house and up to the rocky hilltop where the water tower was situated. He pointed out where it had been spotted previously.

She sat upon the rocks, Charon stood, and she looked through her sniper rifles' scope for any sign of the Yao Guai. There was no luck, no matter how much she looked. Ella reasoned with herself in her mind, and then finally made to climb the water tower. Charon stayed near the base, and watched her ascent.

The higher vantage point proved a little better, as she watched a Yao Guai fighting a group of raiders by an old train who'd probably gotten too close. They were ill-prepared, so the Yao Guai had the upper hand.

The beast killed swiftly and efficiently, but there were more of the raiders than there were of the single Yao Guai, and soon, it was overpowered.

The last raider whooped in joy of just being alive long enough to outlast everyone else to see the death of the Yao Guai.

Head shot.

Ella climbed back down the water tower, “It's this way,” She said, and led Charon to where the grisly scene was laid out. It was a good thing that the raiders had disturbed the Yao Guai, because she hadn't even been aware of them, and that would have posed a terrible threat. They would have to look into whether or not there were any more nearby, as it wouldn't be good if any raiders began to hear things from Minefield and got curious.

“What do you think happened?” She asked, not really expecting an answer from Charon, but still wondering just how they had managed to disturb the beast at such a convenient time for her. Though, it would have been more convenient if they'd killed it a little closer to Minefield.

Charon scanned the surrounding camp, “Looks like one of 'em went to take a piss by its' cave.”

Always check where you're doing your business, she thought to herself. The wasteland was the most dangerous when you let your guard down.

They shuffled through the belongings first, putting everything that would be an asset to them in the bags she'd brought. Food, meds, ammo, and their armor, boots, gloves, and helmets. Ella had originally thought to just cut off what she'd want from the Yao Guai, which was why she'd brought the bags in the first place, but it was much larger in person, and would be much more of a great addition to just bring everything back. Even when they only had molerat to eat, the molerat bones were good for broth. The Yao Guai's bones would make a _lot_ of broth.

But she soon found out that the Yao Guai was too heavy, even between her and Charon. She was thinking about what to do, when Charon suddenly disappeared into the train car, and emerged with a sleeping bag.

“What are we going to do with that?” She asked him, puzzled as how a simple sleeping bag would be of any help in this situation.

He unzipped it and laid it out on the ground next to the Yao Guai's body, “I intend to drag it.”

Charon rolled the beast over onto the sleeping bag, then went around it to the direction of Minefield, and took the sleeping bag in both hands and began to pull. The dead beast and the sleeping bag both scooted up half an inch.

She positioned herself behind the beast, and began to push, and with the help of the mud-slicked ground, they were able to pull and push it all the way back to Minefield, and to where the turret clicked away by the front door. They were both covered in sweat and panting by the time their task was done. It would have been a _lot_ more convenient if the raiders had killed it much closer to Minefield.

Ella wondered if anyone was up yet, the dragging of the Yao Guai had taken probably a little over an hour, maybe more, but didn't have to wonder long, as Watsons' head poked out of the door, then disappeared. Then Cassidy appeared at the door.

“I was about to start breakfast,” She said, giddily eyeing the huge mound of fresh meat, “I didn't think everyone would end up having the same thing though.”

“What do you want off of it first?” She asked Cassidy, waving the combat knife at the thing.

“Gimme the belly,” Cassidy smiled, “Like bacon, like in some of those books we read in the vault, you know? Looks fatty enough, I know molerat sure isn't.”

Ella nodded and took the knife to the Yao Guais' stomach, then she thought better and turned to Cassidy, “Could you grab me a bucket? Actually, two, just in case.”

She nodded and disappeared back in the house, then reappeared with two buckets from the kitchen. Setting them down near Ella, she backed away as she began her sawing motions against the Yao Guais' tough flesh.

The belly was given to Cassidy, enough meat to need two hands to grip it, who went back inside to start breakfast as quickly as she could. The organs were dropped into the buckets, leaving Ella with blood up to nearly her shoulders. Charon stood by and watched her progress, and when she asked (As politely as she could, and trying to avoid a command), he would hold bones or break them apart so she could cut it up better.

She took the bullets out where she could find them, tossing them off to the side, and soon, the entire Yao Guai had been cut up into manageable chunks. When she was finished the two of them headed inside, and she set Watson out to guard the remains with a hunting rifle, in case something came by that wanted to eat them. The teen was glad to be of help.

Ella washed her hands in a bucket of dirty water, and retreated upstairs to change her clothes. When she came back down, everyone else had already eaten, and there was a plateful of Yao Guai bacon and yum yum deviled eggs for her and another plateful for Charon.

When she was done, she switched out with Watson so the kid could eat, and Cassidy came out to look over the cuts and decide what they were going to do with them. Butch, Jamie, and the two women who'd come with her brother came out to see just what it was that she'd brought home.

“There's a lot of meat,” Cassidy conceded, “But are we going to be able to use it all before it starts going bad?”

“I'm sure between everyone here, we can get rid of it all,” She assured her.

Jamie let out a whistle, “You two took this down yourselves?”

“No, but no one else is alive to claim it,” She told him, “Only cost me a bullet.”

“What are you going to do with its' guts?” Butch asked, “We're not going to eat 'em, are we?”

She shrugged, “They'd make good bait for luring other beasts at least.”

“Or for Dogmeat,” Cassidy said, “But we could always eat some of it. I think.”

Butch stuck his tongue out, making a gagging noise to go with it to better illustrate his disgust. Cassidy was still looking at the buckets of intestines with curiosity.

“I think there's something in one of those cookbooks I have,” She hummed, “I'd have to look 'em all over.”

 

When everyone had mostly departed, she was approached by one of the women who'd come with Jamie. She was tall, taller than she was, but that wasn't very hard to be, but she was almost as tall as Charon, and that was pretty impressive for anyone. The woman _looked_ young, but her gray and white hair gave her distinction, and her eyes seemed much older than her face. She was dark skinned, and well-defined. Ella was almost sure that the woman wasn't any ordinary Wastelander. She wasn't skinny, or even had any kind of fat on her that would indicate that she was a well-off merchant. She was all muscle, Ella could see that even through her armor that barely fit her. She had to be some type of Security, or perhaps a hired Mercenary like Jamie was.

She introduced herself, “Cross, of the Brotherhood of Steel. I hold the rank of Star Paladin.”

Ella shook her head, “I don't know what that means.”

Cross smiled at her though, “I knew you probably wouldn't. I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're safe out here. You've grown up so much since I last saw you, you look a lot like your mother.”

“You knew my mother?”

Cross nodded, “Both Catherine and James. I'm very sorry for your loss, I hadn't seen your father for years, but if he'd come to the Brotherhood, I'm sure we would've had a contingent there. If only he'd have _asked_...” She sighed, “But, wishing can't reverse anything. I used to be part of the guard of Jefferson Memorial. I escorted you and your father to the Vault after your mothers' death, but I've known your family since Jamie was a baby.”

She was speechless for a few moments, “I... He never said anything about you... Then again he never said anything about Jamie either.”

Cross chuckled, “It's all right. Jamie told me about that, though I don't understand why James would keep it a secret. I'm just... glad that you've adapted to being out in the Wasteland. Your father was born and raised out here, and he was never good at living in it.”

She made to leave, but Ella stopped her, “Could you... tell me about my mother?”

Cross thought a moment, “She was what some people called a _Junkyard Rat_ , she was born and grew up in one like that Junkyard just over the hill from here. Someone once told me she knew how to take apart and put back together just about anything she could find, so she traveled quite a bit when other settlements needed things to be repaired. Catherine told me she met your father and science in Rivet City... and she took to science like a vertibird to air. Project Purity was her idea, it was her dream that everyone should be able to have access to clean drinking water.”

Cross shifted from one foot to another in a pause, then continued, “She was... a very _happy_ person. She could brighten any room just with her smile. She could see the good in anyone, no matter who they were or what they'd done in the past.”

“I...” Her breath hitched. The new information stitching itself to her pre-conceived image of her mother, dreams that she'd had about her, and found that the new parts of it fit in well with this fantasy version of the mom she never had, “Thank you.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about not updating sooner. (If you didn't know,) We moved across the country (2.2k miles) and the move was much harder than any of us had been expecting. After we finally did get into the house and unpacked a few things (not everything is unpacked yet, unfortunately), we found out that (my husbands') computer doesn't work anymore. It won't even boot up, which is weird, since it was perfectly fine before the trip. We're waiting on something to replace it, but I don't know when that will be. For now, we've jury-rigged my laptop (with the non-functioning screen and the tendency to overheat and die) to a monitor, and have been trying to get by with that. Still very difficult though.
> 
> I don't want it to sound like I'm making excuses, but I just wanted everyone to know what was going on at the moment. I'm very sorry about the long wait, and hopefully I'll be able to upload a lot more a lot sooner.


	25. Meatloaf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassidy tries new recipes and Ella clears the last house in Minefield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More updates! :D

Cassidy DeLoria

 _-November 7th, 2277_ -

 

Cassidy sighed as she flipped through another one of the cookbooks. There were five of them in total that Ella had repaired enough to read for their use. The chili, which she had to learn how to recreate with whatever they had, was a favorite, so whenever they ate something from one of the cookbooks, it was always that. It didn't leave them with a lot of other things to try if everyone just wanted chili.

But now they had things that they wouldn't have otherwise used. Molerats didn't have that much in the way of guts, so Dogmeat usually got the unused parts. Molerat organs, radroach legs, anything they didn't eat. Yao Guai on the other hand, had a _lot_ of internal organs and intestines.

She checked the oldest of the cookbooks last, one that she didn't consult ever because of the aforementioned love of chili. It was some cookbook for farm-wives of the late 1800s, a reprint, at least, and as she was looking through it, she turned her attention more towards it.

Longevity was the name of the game in the case of this one. Every recipe could last for weeks or months on a shelf instead of a fridge. It was the perfect manual for making their fresh food (even fruits and vegetables) last a _very_ long time. Jellies and butter and potted meat and a whole slew of other things that could help with their stock of food.

She poked her head out of the kitchen, looking for Ella. Though the survivors of Megaton were still in not-so-good shape, they were still much better off than they had been before, and much happier thanks to the filling and fresh breakfast.

She waved Ella into the kitchen, Charon followed, which was good because she also wanted to ask some questions about pre-war, and hopefully he'd answer. The book was showed off, and Ella approved of it.

“It would make all our lives a little bit easier,” Ella said.

“Yeah,” She flipped through the book quickly, “And I found something that would work for the organs and stuff.”

“ _Sausages_?” Ella read the recipe title, “What's sausages?”

She didn't fault Ella for not remembering the one or two times that sausages were brought up in their reading material. She had barely remembered it herself, and it was only after really studying the word that she was able to connect it. Those parts of the books usually went by quickly, like they weren't allowed to stop and question what this food from forever ago was, and the food was never really described, because the people of the time didn't need to be told what it was.

“It's ground meat in a casing. A couple of pages after this shows how you can smoke them to make them last a month or two, or something like that.”

“In what kind of casing?” Ella asked, “We don't have anything that could be casing.”

Cassidy smiled, knowing that Ella was about to pull a weird face, “Intestines,” She wasn't disappointed.

“Oh! And...!” She turned to Charon, “What's bread?”

He looked at her, seemingly dumbfounded by the question. She knew _of_ bread, it made appearances in the books they were forced to read in the vault sometimes, more than sausages did, but she didn't know what it _was_. The cookbook said that it was made from flour, but what was flour? Not even the books in the vault had mentioned flour, but she didn't know what it was. What if they just didn't have that anymore?

“It's...” He said, thinking and stumbling over his words. It was funny, because he was always so concise and to the point that him having to think of how to explain it to her was amusing. To him though, it was probably something he'd never had to explain, because two hundred years ago, everyone knew what bread was.

“It's a baked... dough.” Charon finally answered.

“What's dough?”

He got that caught-in-a-trap look again, eyes darting from left to right as he thought, then he said, “It's... well... made of flour and water.”

“What's flour?” She was going to get to that question soon anyways. She'd seen flour written in the oldest recipes of the vault, but nothing she could find identified what it was _made_ of exactly, she had no old packages with a list of ingredients to go off of.

“Ground up wheat.”

“I don't know what wheat it,” She told him.

“Razorgrain?”

“Oh, like what the noodles that Jenny makes-” She remembered suddenly that Jenny wasn't among the survivors that had come, “- _used to_ make out of.”

He nodded, relieved.

“Anything else I could make flour from?”

“Corn,” He said simply.

Both ingredients were somewhat easy to find in the wastes, she remembered that Moira stocked them sometimes, when the produce would come in from Arefu, so it would be at least somewhat easy to get a hold of when the caravans started running again. Grinding them up would take some time or a lot of thought.

She turned to the page with the bread on it, “What about yeast?”

“Yeast doesn't exist anymore,” He said.

“Can I make it without?”

“If you want it to be a brick.”

She hummed, looking down at the book critically.

“Beer contains yeast,” He added, it was almost like an after-thought, but she could hear something underneath the gruffness of his voice.

It made sense though, bread was a pre-war thing, and she hadn't seen nor heard about it in the vault or in the wastes. All they had in the vault were the packaged food that lasted forever. Even while working in the cafeteria she'd noticed that anything more complicated than setting food out was left to Andy or Old Lady Palmer, even though she didn't work in the cafeteria anymore, and baking was more of a past-time for her.

“Beer bread,” She hummed to herself, trying to calculate in her head how much beer she'd need to use. She could just substitute the water and the yeast in it for beer, right? That would take care of the liquid and the yeast.

“Okay,” She said, “I think that was it.”

Ella left, shuffling out of the house, probably to go switch with Watson again. Since it was still a little stormy outside, they couldn't risk being out there for too long. They should really bring the meat in soon, but if it wasn't going to be used, all it would do would be to stink up the house and probably attract more predators.

It would only really bring them more _meat_.

“BUTCH!” She yelled from her place at the counter, going through the sausage recipe again to see exactly what she needed, and going about getting bowls and spoons and things like that together.

“ _What?_ ” He growled when he came in.

“I want you to look through the engineering manuals, and that one camping one, if we still have it. See if you can find traps or whatever.”

He groaned and left the room, heading to the pile of books and magazines they kept in the living room. She continued on her search for items. A metal bowl, water, a knife, a spoon, some leftover Radroach meat, and then finally a good chunk of Yao Guai meat and its' intestines.

Cassidy sighed and went to work cleaning out the guts.

 

 

Ella Rhodes

 _-November 7th, 2277_ -

 

There were three other houses in Minefield, and another that had been buried by rubble. She had planned to get everyone's help with digging it out, so that they could loot it, but they just never seemed to have time, and when they did have time it was because the weather had forced them inside.

The grumbling overhead them promised more rain soon, so whatever they did now, they had to do it fast.

Ella spotted Butch sitting on the stoop of their house and reading from a magazine, a pile of books beside him. She had thought briefly of having him help her, but he was in the middle of something. So she went to the buried house, and asked Charon for a lift up.

He did so, but only after hesitation a moment. She had an empty backpack around her shoulders, the same one she'd used that morning when they'd run into the raiders, now just dumped of its' contents, and her 10mm in her waistband.

She crawled through the window, and dropped down hard onto the floor of the old home. Ella stood for a few moments to adjust to the dim light, then took a few steps inside. Like every other house in Minefield, it had nearly the exact same layout, so it was easy to navigate.

The inside had been preserved since prewar, but there was little to find in way of supplies. A few boxes of food and a few chems, but that was it. It became apparent as she searched the house that the survivors of the war had become trapped. They must have thought that it was better to stay inside than to travel out, since the upper windows would have still available to them.

There was a big stew pot though, and a pressure cooker, and Cassidy was always looking for extra kitchen pots to use, so she placed the pressure cooker into the stew pot, and somehow finagled it into her bag.

Taking a chair, she drug it across the living room and to the window she'd crawled through to get into the house, and hefted herself up and out of it. Charon was there, waiting patiently for her to return. She dropped down into his arms, and she wasn't imagining anything when she confirmed that his hands lingered around her waist.

It seemed even he realized it after a moment, and his hands jolted back as if she'd burned him. She couldn't help herself, took a step forward, and leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder. He was immovably rigid, as though he were as unswayable as a deep-rooted tree. It felt wrong.

Ella straightened herself, not being able to look anywhere other than the ground, “Sorry.”

 

They were returning to the house when she noticed a little figure pacing along the street, rifle in hand. She smiled to herself, and went to go see what Harden was doing.

He stopped when he found that she was in his way, and she bent to talk to him, “What're you doing?”

“I gotta be Sheriff now. Now that dad's gone,” He said.

Her smile widened, “All right, Sheriff Harden, how 'bout you come inside and have some lunch?”

“What about the raiders?”

“Don't you know that raiders hibernate for the winter?”

His eyes went wide, “They do? Like Yao Guai do?”

She nodded, “Yep. So you don't have to worry about those darned raiders 'til Spring, okay?”

He nodded, his large cowboy hat dropping down over his eyes. She helped him see again, and he took her hand to lead her back to the house.

Ella giggled despite herself, “What-?”

“I gotta 'scort you back. I'm Sheriff.”

“Right. Thank you, Sheriff.”

 

The rest of the meat and organs were taken into the house, and they had lunch of fried Yao Guai steak. She worked on Charons' book some more, it was in really bad shape, so she had to requisition a bottle of glue from Cassidys' repair supplies.

All too soon it was time for dinner, and what she was presented was definitely not the sausages that Cassidy had promised dinner would be.

“It's meatloaf,” Cassidy sighed.

“What about the sausages?”

“I accidentally burst the casing. Multiple times. So we're having meatloaf.”

It looked kind of like a can of cram, just a solid chunk of meat, but she ate it anyways. It couldn't be _worse_ than cram.

The others who had come were doing much better, Moira was even able to eat without having to first take half a handful of Med-X. Her appetite was good, and it helped every other one of the survivors feel more at ease. The worst for her was over, and so it was for them as well.

They all bedded down early for the night, everyone needed the rest. Ella checked over the little yellow book before bed, the glue was almost dry. She could probably give it to Charon in the morning.

 

 

Charon

 _-November 8th, 2277_ -

 

It had to be well past midnight when he was jolted awake by the sound of gunfire. He stood in an instant, listening to it as he grabbed his shotgun and made his way downstairs. There were two types of gunfire going on, the erratic gunfire that he usually associated with super-mutants or raiders, and the steady clicking of a turret.

At the landing, he checked the living room, everyone was wide awake, with Ella's brother and the two women already jumping towards their armor and guns. Stockholm, though his leg was still broken, had a rifle and he was poised to take down anyone who dared enter the house from his chair. Harden was rising from his bedroll, and as he was turning back to the door he caught Jamies' eye, then motioned for the child.

The man nodded once and crossed the room to where Harden was trying to prepare a rifle. Ella, Cassidy, Watson, Butch, and Dogmeat all came rushing downstairs, in various states of undress.

“Stay behind,” He said, quickly going to the door.

 

He ripped open the door, and immediately pulled his trigger into a nearby raider. His blood sang just as the mans' spilled to the ground, he hadn't been in a real gunfight since they had been at the Jefferson Memorial. It was a joy to feel his shotgun warm in his hands. It was also a nice distraction from his thoughts and emotions that he had spent so long trying to bury deep down inside him.

A second raider went down, screaming on the ground as his guts bled out around him, and he went to reload. Before he could, another one of them leapt at him, and he used the butt end of his gun to bash his face in.

Some were trying to charge him, some were trying to charge the turret, but each of them fell to the bullet storm that came their way. The rain from the green clouds above them carried their blood down to mix with the deepening mud wherever they landed.

He heard the whiz of a bullet go past his shoulder, and a distant raider went down to a head shot. Other gunfire began to go off behind him, creating a wave of raiders falling away from him. The only bullets that dared go near him were that of the sniper rifles' rounds, and he trusted those more than he trusted his own shotgun.

There was deadly accuracy in it.

 

When the skirmish was over, Charon looked over their small battlefield. It was only a dead-end street, but there were at least a dozen dead raiders littering the ground. There was blood and bits of brain and sinew and meat up to his knees, though the rain was washing it away from at least his boots.

 

His socks were wet.

 

With a minute to regain his breath, his attention turned back to the holder of his contract. Ella stood in the doorway, sniper rifle under her arm and balanced across her hip. She held it with a grip that could keep a fussing toddler in place.

A child she deserved that he would never be able to give her. It would be better to ignore her feelings and his own so that she could move on. She was still young, the thoughts of ever having a relationship with him would pass soon enough.

People around him, including the universe at large, rarely ever agreed with him. As he had looked to her, he found that she'd been staring at him. The expression in her doe-eyes was unreadable, but it made those feelings, that he'd been so desperately trying to push down, to surface and strengthen as they did.

Despite it being the middle of the night, nobody seemed to be inclined to go back to sleep, so instead, lanterns were passed around and the dead were relieved of their gear and supplies, and then were dragged out of town far enough to not attract carrion to the small neighborhood.

They did all this as the freezing midnight rain pelted them relentlessly, each drop hitting like a blunted needle, and the skies were lightening with the color of dawn when they had thrown the last body down into a ditch.

 

When everyone was settled back down, Charon fell into his chair outside of Cassidy and Ella's bedroom, and sighed.

He toed off his boots and all but ripped the wet socks from his feet.

 


	26. Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie leaves Minefield in search of G.E.C.K.

James Rhodes Jr

 _-November 9th, 2277_ -

 

“We've dallied too long,” Cross told him, though he already knew that. They should have already been at the vault with the G.E.C.K by now, but the incident with Megaton and helping the survivors to his sisters' 'settlement' had taken up a lot of time, and had put them in a different direction than they should have been traveling.

Even now the Brotherhood of Steel was, or should be, prepping for an attack against Jefferson Memorial. If they were just sitting on their hands and waiting for his return before they'd even consider it, well, then he'd probably throw himself into the Potomac.

He wouldn't even be bothering right now if the Enclave hadn't killed his father, taken over a project that his mother had poured her entire being into until her death, and if the Brotherhood weren't paying him so well.

They had caps in abundance, but they were a stingy group. Even though they had the money to pay for their supplies, they'd still try to get it as free, or as close to free, as they possibly could. The Brotherhood were the only ones fighting the super-mutants, would you really snub them food and ammo when they kept the armies of hell off your doorstep?

He wondered how they might be received in over parts of the country, or the world at large. Jamie wondered if there were any other Brotherhoods left besides the ones here in the Capital Wasteland. Sure he'd heard about some on the west coast, but it was hard to believe any rumor or news that came from that far away.

Cross and Sarah were still looking at him expectantly, he'd gotten too caught up in thinking about their Brotherhood to have realized that they wanted his participation in the conversation. He coughed and fished out his map from his inside pocket. He'd put Minefield on the map that last time he'd come here, so all he had to do was trace his way to where the Brotherhood had put the Vault they needed to visit on his map.

It wasn't a very good prospect when he'd found out what the quickest path took them to.

“We're going to lose some time while going. We'll have to go around Germantown-”

“Why?” Sarah asked. Like himself, she'd only really been around the downtown D.C area, but he'd known enough of the northern parts through the information coming through the caravan hands to know it was still just as dangerous.

“It's a super-mutant hideout. South of it also has more of them, so it would be better to skirt north, I think.”

“Too much time lost in going south trying to go around two locations,” Cross agreed.

“The problem with that, is that Paradise Falls is north of Germantown. I don't know how close they are to each other, but I don't think they're as close as Germantown is to the other super-mutant hidey-hole,” He sighed, “If we traveled by the darkness of the night, we could probably get through without any problems.”

“And then from there?”

He consulted his map, “We'd have to cross the Potomac. Arefu would be the best bet, and we could restock supplies while we're there. Then, if my map is correct, we'd have a straight shot to the location of the Vault.”

Jamie handed the map off to Cross when she asked for it, and she studied the map as well, and came to the same conclusion, though she did suggest that they could have gone back the way they came to where Megaton had been, and then travel west from there, but they both agreed it was better to avoid the radiation that would be coming from there for the time being.

Cross and Sarah went to go prepare to leave, but he had one last thing to do before they left Minefield behind entirely. He found Ella outside, teaching Harden how to hold a rifle with the help of her trusty old bb gun. She'd given it to the boy as a present, so that he could practice shooting without wasting any bullets and something that fit his size, and now Harden seemed to follow her around like a little lost mirelurk hatchling.

His sister noticed him almost instantly, and shooed Harden off to go follow Watson and Maggie on their little adventure to find anything they could gather up nearby, with Cassidy acting as their sentinel. Charon was standing nearby, but he didn't need to be alone with Ella to tell her what he wanted to relate, it might have been better, in fact, if her bodyguard were to hear what he had to say as well.

He told her that her friend looked like a sentinel, and she laughed and smiled, replying that it was a good position to have. He brought out the map and handed it to her to look over, then pointed out the nearby dangers.

“I don't know the exact locations, these are all just general areas,” He said, “Germantown and Paradise Falls would be the most prevalent dangers against you and Minefield.”

The location that Paradise Falls was probably in was the most north-ward he'd ever labeled something on the map, though he'd heard about more settlements that were to the north-east, though he'd never heard anything about them past that they were where some supplies came from through the caravans. Before he'd gone to Minefield, the most northern he'd been had been somewhere around the Bethesda ruins, though he hadn't stayed for very long on account of it being swarmed with raiders.

“Those are...?” She looked up at him quizzically.

“Super-mutants and slavers respectively. Paradise Falls is the largest slaver compound east of the Pitt.”

She hummed and turned back to the map, probably making note of the locations, “I think I've seen Germantown from my scope up on the water tower.”

Ella handed the map back over, and the quiet that followed was oddly stifling.

“You're leaving, aren't you?”

“Yeah,” He mumbled, “Have to get to some Vault.”

“What for?” She asked.

“Mom and Dad's project. Before... before Dad died, he said that the project still needed a G.E.C.K, some pre-war Vault thing. But without it, the purifier won't work. It's why he went into the other Vault, looking for it, only some of them have it. The Enclave want it, but so do the Brotherhood.”

“And you're going to get it for the Brotherhood then?”

“Yeah. Probably would've done it for pennies, but they were desperate, so it's a nice paycheck too.”

“Of course that's what you're interested in,” She replied snarkily, crossing her arms.

He shrugged, “I gotta live too.”

A cold feeling passed through his guts, he captured Ella by the arm, her head whipped up to him, Charon took a step forward, a glint in his eyes almost daring him to try anything.

“Ella, you have to know, if I die-”

“You're not going to die,” She replied, then added, almost as though she were begging him, “Don't die.”

“Ella, if I _die_ , you have to _know_ ,” He took a shaky breath, “I've got a daughter living down in Tenpenny Tower. She'll be six now.”

“I have a niece?”

Jamie nodded quickly, “If I die, take care of her, okay?”

“Don't die,” She pleaded.

“I'll try not to.”

“Don't.”

He pulled her into a hug, and she cried into his dusty leather jacket. It was too soon after Dad's death and too early in knowing the Enclave to know how this would all end. Their taking over Jefferson had been a surprise attack, to be sure, but even the Brotherhood of Steel was hesitant to go into open attack against them, which showed that their forces were at least equal or greater to the Brotherhoods'.

Not to mention the Megaton debacle. Between the Memorial, his escape from it, and the blowing up of Megaton, he'd nearly been murdered by them no less than ten times, and had narrowly escaped. He wasn't a lucky person though, so the cold feeling settled in to stay deep in his stomach.

Charon had averted his eyes from the brother-sister embrace, and if questioned, Jamie was sure that he would say that he was scanning the area for threats.

They separated, and he touched the large ghoul on the shoulder, “You take care of Ella, yeah?”

Charon nodded somberly.

The three of them went back to the house, and he packed up his things quickly. They wouldn't leave until near sunset, so they all sat around the kitchen table. There was no conversation though, and soon the time came that the sky was changing color, signaling their departure.

Ella gave him another hug, and they departed without exchanging words. The cold feeling never left him as they disappeared into the growing darkness.

 

Germantown was nothing more than one intact building (A police station, where all of the super-mutants congregated), and a number of crumbling buildings along the outskirts, where other super-mutants patrolled or kept watch, or slept. Each location that held even a single super-mutant also had barrels of crude oil fires, sending sickening smelling black smoke into the air above them.

But the dark granted them enough coverage to pass with only a few of the night watch'men' even hearing them, and loudly asking their companions if they'd heard something too. It was a good choice to have the two paladins leave their power-armor behind, or else they would've had to fight all of Germantown.

After the greasy barrel fires faded, they began more southward, to avoid Paradise Falls. The slavers there were much smarter, and only a few pinpricks of light gave away that there was anything in that general location. They were far enough south now though that they didn't see any of the slavers, and more importantly, the slavers hadn't see them as they passed. He hoped.

They approached Arefu from the north, and immediately saw what was so wrong with this plan of going through Arefu; the bridge was split. The split looked new, so it was probably because of the slavers of Paradise Falls that caused the people of Arefu to take such drastic measures. They could see the buildings of the settlement, placed atop the bridge, but there was a large gap between the road they were standing on and the part of it that was Arefu.

He cursed, and turned around.

“What do we do?” Sarah asked, following him down. He didn't know if the question was directed to him or to Cross, but he decided to let Cross handle it.

“We'll have to wait until morning to find a suitable crossing,” She replied to the younger paladin.

“We're losing too much time as it is already,” He said, “We'll have to cross in the dark.”

“That's suicide.”

“It's the Potomac, and not even a section of the deeper of the river.”

“It would be much too dangerous to try it at night,” Cross argued with him as he went to find the banks of the river, “Any number of things could go wrong. We don't even have the light of the moon to help.”

Jamie strained his eyes across the black water, and he wondered if those shapes opposite them were real or only in his imagination. A mirage in the night?

He would have argued more, but the figures across the river spooked him, so the three of them headed back to the overpass, taking shelter under it from the sprinkling rain that had followed them through their night journey.

 

- _November 10th, 2277_ -

 

In the morning, Jamie found that the figures were nothing more than bare trees, that had swayed in the windy night. He felt foolish now, but at least he hadn't been fool enough to point them out to Cross and Sarah and have them think less of him.

In the light of the new day, the three of them travelled west-ward along the Potomac, and crossed over a shallow area rife with huge boulders. Before the war, this spot was probably a set of small rapids, Jamie mused to himself.

From there they went straight south, only guessing as to their vague location on his map as they went. The land before them was vast and open, and they stayed as low to the ground and found cover whenever they could as they travelled further down.

Whenever they ate, it was quickly and while under heavy cover and peering around with a paranoia that could rival his dad at his worst. They heard sounds of molerats and radroaches, who were more busy hibernating than worrying about whoever was above them, and only on one occasion did one such molerat peer out of its' burrow to stare at them with it's black beady eyes as they passed.

“The location marked on here looks to be around where we are,” Cross said, studying his map, “Could the information that we have be wrong somehow?”

“Either the map would be wrong, or the Brotherhoods' information is wrong,” He said.

Sarah puffed out her cheeks and glared at him, “The Brotherhood isn't wrong.”

“He didn't say that,” Cross said, trying to calm the younger paladin down, “He said that the information is wrong. Rothchild could just have false information, it happens all the time.”

Sarah simmered down, but still pouted away from them. They searched around, but found no luck in locating anything of note that could point them in the direction of where they needed to go. They continued their search until about dusk, when they stopped to eat cold cram, and wonder just what they were doing wrong. He had shit luck with Vaults so far.

“We could ask a nearby settlement,” Cross suggested.

“I don't think there're any around,” He mumbled, not remembering putting anything on the map, either that he'd been to or heard about, that was near that little map marker that now adorned his worn out map.

“There's lights in that direction,” She motioned with her head, “A settlement most like.”

“Probably raiders or slavers,” He thought about it for a moment. He'd known Cross when he was a child, he had used to follow her around when she was making her rounds outside of the memorial before Ella had been born, thinking how cool and brave she was, and how he wanted to be just like her. Not like the stuffy scientists that his parents were and kept the company of. If she was willing to take the chance, then she was sure as hell more capable at handling whatever would be thrown her way. It certainly couldn't be as dangerous as Germantown or Paradise Falls.

He worried for Sarah though, she was a little bit experienced, but she was bull-headed, like him, but unlike him, she was more likely to rush face first into a battle.

Then he thought about the logistics of whether the place could be friend or foe. Paradise Falls were far north of them now, and Evergreen Mills should still be quite a ways south, so it was unlikely that they were slavers. Raiders were more known to hide out in smaller locations, in single buildings that they could defend without the use of any technology more complicated than an automatic rifle. They also kept to the more populated areas, nearer to Arefu, Rivet City, and what had once been Megaton. If they had the guns and the numbers, they could probably take down an errant caravan.

So it was unlikely to be raiders either. If it was true that this was a settlement, then it was probably the best concealed and best defended one he'd ever come across. Not even he knew about it, and he knew about settlement, enemy territory, and possible scavenging areas that were south of the Potomac.

He sighed, “All right, let's go look.”

They didn't need to pack anything up, as they just stood from their empty food containers, threw their bags over their shoulders, and began off into that direction. There was a large opening in the side of rocky hills that led down to a door-like gate, illuminated by several long stringed lamps. With his gun pressed closely to his side, he half-walked and half-slid down into the cavern.

The door wasn't guarded, and he was able to open it easily, and continued down into it. A few twists and turns in the cavern led to a semi-open area, with a large wall constructed across.

Then a little voice piped up at the gate, “Don't take another step, or I'll blow your fucking head off.”

Jamie sighed.

 

 

Ella Rhodes

- _November 10th, 2277_ -

 

The night had been long, while she had stayed up half of it worrying first about her brother, then second about their apparently close proximity to not only a super-mutant camp, but also the largest slaver settlement 'east of the Pitt', as her brother had said. Whatever the Pitt was, she didn't want anything to do with it, not unless she was going in with an army to dismantle it.

But she didn't have an army. They were barely a collective as it was.

And a collective where most of their members couldn't defend themselves. Sure, when it was just Charon, Cassidy, Butch, Dogmeat, and herself, they all knew how to fight. At varying levels, sure, but they all knew how.

Besides the few quick lessons she'd given to Harden, he was still an inexperienced child, and Maggie was the same. The young girl didn't show much of an interest in learning how to hold a gun, but they'd have to get around to doing it soon. There were no walls to protect Minefield.

Gob, Moira, and Walter had never had to protect themselves, and now Walter was missing an arm as well. The old mechanic could hardly even do his own profession anymore.

Doc Church had a little bit of experience, but more as a medic than as a fighter, and that only left Stockholm, the sniper of former Megaton, who was currently trying to get someone to boost him up into the attic, to see if he could make a crows' nest on the roof.

He even put together a list of things he'd need, everything from wood and plywood (even including how big they had to be in arm-lengths), to household things like buckets, a lamp, oil, and a bedroll. It seemed that it was his intent to make the attic his new home.

After breakfast she snuck out of the house, while most everybody was doing something else. Most of what needed to be doing was what remained of the Yao Guai, which was mostly consisting of boiling it's bones for a soup for later and eating up the last of the meat. And possibly through to tomorrow. Butch was busy trying to set up some type of trap, and using some of the Yao Guai's guts as bait.

 

She scaled the hill, Charon following behind her. It was still overcast and was chilly, and there was a light fog, but that was all right. She climbed up the water tower with her sniper rifle, Charon stayed on the ground, keeping a perimeter in case there should be any enemies nearby.

Ella thought she saw what must have been Germantown, but she couldn't be certain. Paradise Falls was easier to spot from this high up, but only because of the towering metal statue of a boy rising up from the walls. There wasn't anything around that she could see in that direction that could be counted on as a 'large' settlement besides that block of buildings, so it _had_ to be Paradise Falls.

It wasn't _very_ close, but close enough to put her on edge. How many slaves were there? How many slavers? How many per squad was pushed out into the wasteland to collar slaves and haul them back? Could they hold their own against such an attack?

It seemed unlikely, especially now. They'd have to think of something.

 


	27. Backstreet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Boston, with Nick Valentine having been gone for a little over than a week and a half, Amalthea decides to turn to scavenger work to earn some caps, but also has to deal with Diamond Citys' resident playboy, John McDonough.

Amalthea Dawson

 _-November 10th, 2277_ -

 

Each day since being reunited with Aunt Daisy, Molly did nearly the same thing every day. She'd rise early, have a meager breakfast, help Aunt Daisy with chores around the agency, eat a light lunch, go to work wherever she could (She wasn't going to be a burden to Aunt Daisy, or Mr Valentine, once he'd come back, which he should have already), and come home almost too tired to eat the only proper meal she had all day. Her Aunt also had a hectic work schedule, especially considering that she had to turn people away who wanted Mr Valentines' detective services. He still wasn't back, and her Aunt was getting worried.

Sanctuary Hills wasn't that far away from Diamond City, but she didn't want to leave the protective walls. She'd only made it here on pure luck, and she wasn't about to throw it away going back in that direction.

She would have to leave at some point though, because the chores and jobs in Diamond City were growing thin as the last of the crops were picked and everyone settled into the long wait until Spring when work could resume.

And while Nick Valentine got a decent pay for whatever he did, that wouldn't last. Dad always said, that if you got lazy and didn't continue giving your work the same amount of attention or more than you had before, even when you had a nice pillow under you, you'd soon find that it would turn into just a pillowcase. And then it would be too late.

The only options were menial labor in the farms of Diamond City, which were now bare thanks to the upcoming winter, or scavenging. It would have to be scavenging.

So she asked her Aunt, and what she got in reply was; “Why would you want to do that?”

“Better prepared means better survival,” It was something Dad said a lot. He'd said it to Mom just before he started building that bunker behind the house, though it was half-finished when they'd been accepted into Vault 111. She wondered now if anyone had gone to it when the bombs had dropped, or if it still had any supplies left in it.

It would be good to look, although, when she was absolutely certain she could get that far out there without another run-in with Mr Lowell or any raiders.

Aunt Daisy frowned at her, hands on her hips, sighed, then tutted at her, “Good armor and a good gun, just in case. Stay low and quiet.”

She went and grabbed her bag from under her bed – actually it was Nick Valentines' bed, but until he came back or until they got another one, it was hers – and brought it back. She took out the guns that she had collected when she was still in Concord.

Her Aunt tutted at her again, then looked through the display, picking out the best one and handing it off to her. A snub-nosed .44.

“You should take it to Arturo, make sure it's in good shape. Then maybe we could sell the rest.”

“I thought it might be more useful to keep 'em,” She looked over the bunch. Most of them were cobbled together, but there was a .10, another .44 (In worse condition than the Snubnose, which wasn't the best name for a gun, but it was better than nothing), and a flare gun. She kind of wanted to keep the flare gun, if for nothing else because it was cool.

“It might be better to sell them now,” Aunt Daisy said, “Then you can use the money to upgrade the gun, or for armor.”

She sighed, “A little of both maybe?”

“If you can manage it,” Aunt Daisy sighed, “I don't know how you could, but then again, I've never gone out to buy armor either.”

They packed up the guns again, and the two of them headed out, Aunt Daisy locked the door behind them. They were only going one 'street' over to visit Arturo, but it was better to be safe in Diamond City by locking the door. It was better to lock your door wherever you were in the post-apocalypse.

They traded in the other guns, except for the flare gun, and Arturo looked over Snubnose. He tinkered with it, and returned it to her, along with a couple of cases of ammo. Armor was cheaper than expected, mostly because they searched around and found some umpire gear that the guards of Diamond City used. It was old and ratty, probably would take too much to repair it than it was worth for them.

So they took it back and looked it over, and Aunt Daisy fished out her sewing kit. Most of the damage was frayed straps, which her Aunt replaced with belts from what they already had around the agency.

With it done, she tried her new armor on. It was a bit big on her, but she was still just a teenager, she probably wasn't done growing yet. But by the time that everything was finished, it was already nearing sundown, and she didn't want to delve into downtown Boston at night.

So it only made sense to eat another meager dinner and go to bed. Amalthea slept fitfully, worrying herself over what was to happen tomorrow.

 

- _November 11, 2277_ -

 

It seemed like she didn't sleep at all (though she must've, because she woke up), and she rose from the bed and got dressed as quickly as she could. Breakfast with Aunt Daisy was quick as well, and then her Aunt helped her don her new armor.

With Snubnose on her hip, she emerged from Valentine's Detective Agency, walked through the crowded marketplace, and mounted the stairs that led out of Diamond City. Nobody really noticed her, or if they did, nobody really seemed to care. She was nothing but a drifter here, or at best, she was the weird girl who was living with her 'Aunt'.

Amalthea stopped by the statue in the courtyard just outside the gate of Diamond City, looking over her surroundings and trying to decide where she should go first. The street that led south-west out of Boston? The road toward Back Bay? Towards the South End?

Where would it be best to search out for supplies when it was likely that two-hundred years worth of scavengers had already picked over the best of everything?

She'd have to think of something, maybe something other than food that she could sell in the marketplace, and that could get them enough money to live on. But what were objects that she could sell for a good profit?

If nothing else, she could just hope to come across dead raiders again and take all of their stuff. She knew how to fire a gun, her father made sure of that, but she'd never shot _at_ anyone before.

“Yo, wait up!” Came a familiar voice from behind her.

She groaned. Of course _he'd_ follow her.

Over the course of time she'd spent in Diamond City, she'd met a lot of people, mostly while just going about her daily routine. Sometimes Aunt Daisy would introduce her to someone. But there was no one more annoying to her than the blonde McDonough. He was a real pain in her side, and it didn't help that he was both handsome _and_ a playboy. (And the fact that he was at least ten years older than her, but nobody seemed to care about the old laws). Too bad for him, because she'd already promised Aunt Daisy that she'd still follow those out of date laws, and that meant that she wasn't going to be with anyone (Who wasn't her own age, at least), for another three years. In maturity though, she was probably older than him by a good number of years.

He didn't get the memo. Even though she'd written it on her knuckles and gave him a close look at it. The bruise had already faded.

“McDonough,” She grumbled as he came up beside her, knowing he hated being called by his last name. His family were all upper-standers, and he was a bit of a black sheep of them all, hanging out with the fielders.

“Just John, is fine,” He smiled, all shiny white teeth. She wondered where they got the toothpaste. Did someone still make toothpaste? Or was it something that only the very rich did to show off how fashionable they were now? (Or, as she suspected, was there just a lot of toothpaste that came from the old world? It always seemed like there was a lot of toothpaste still left on the shelves, even when supermarkets were getting bare before their restocking days.)

He had a pistol tucked into the waistband of his pants, but he was devoid of any armor. Was he really trying to come with her or something? Or maybe throw himself into the arms of a raider to do what they will? It certainly seemed like he had a death wish.

“ _McDonough_ ,” She repeated. He grunted, she continued, “What do you want?”

“Thought I'd give you some back-up, you know?” His smile never wavered, “Pretty girl like you shouldn't be wandering around the streets of Boston by yourself.”

She snorted at the thought, _him_ saving _her_. He couldn't take a couple of drinks without needing help back to his house (Though he usually ended up in the corner of the dugout in front of the inn that was named after it, sometimes stark naked for the laughs. They all had the Russian with the funny stories to thank for that.)

“Well, if you want to die...”

“Naaah,” He yawned, it was the only time the smile dropped from his face, “Look, I gotta guy I pick some chems up from, I already paid so he's dropped them off somewhere. Thought maybe we could go that direction together, hang out? Share a bit?”

“Not even in your dreams, McDonough,” She frowned at him, “I'm out here to scavenge. If you hadn't noticed, it's a bit harder for us 'Fielders' to keep food on our plates.”

“A di-lema, to be sure. I could show you a few places I know that some of the others haven't been through.”

She considered in a moment. If it was a dead end, she could always shoot him in the foot or something, let him limp home. Throw his chems into the Charles perhaps.

Amalthea shrugged, “Sure.”

He fist pumped, and normally she would laugh, but when he did it, it just seemed kind of pathetic. Especially considering that a 'win' for him was if the fourth woman he hit on in a night didn't throw a drink in his face.

John McDonough led her down the street, towards the Back Bay, waving at the guards as he passed them, and all but skipping merrily along. They came across the waterfront, and began to trek down the way until they came to a stop at a mail drop. He opened the container and pulled out a box, wrapped in moldy and torn newspaper.

Then he turned her attention to an storefront they were near. _Backstreet Apparel_ , it said.

She turned to him, “You're joking, right?”

“Not in the slightest, Dollface,” He smiled, “You clear out a place like this, you could sell to Becky Fallon for every shiny bottlecap she has. The Basements' the only place you can go to buy clothes, so the Upper-Standers _have_ to make the trek down in order to look for something to beat the others in 'newly' discovered fashion. They all like shit like that.”

“How do I even know something like that's going to happen?” She grumbled, looking at the empty store.

“They do. Trust me,” He shrugged, “I'm an upper-stander, too, remember? In a loose sense, at least.”

She sighed, “All right, let's get this over with.”

 

Amalthea had followed him into the store, which was occupied by nothing but strung out addicts. A blind man with a gun could've taken this place over if he wanted to with no problems. They stepped over them to get their loot, which were piles upon piles of untouched clothes, hats, hat pins, shoes (Both high-heeled and not), stockings (She really didn't hold out any hope of them being anything but dust by the time they made it back to Diamond City), jewelry, and two boxes of clothing repair supplies.

If the clothes and accessories didn't bring in any money, the boxes of repair supplies would more than definitely make up for it. Where would a clothing store like Fallon's Basement go to get any supplies like this? They'd have to have a cobbled together supply, and in that case, the two boxes would be pure gold. If gold were worth anything anymore.

While she was piling away her new belongings, the blonde McDonough was prancing through the room and pocketing what chems he could from the unsuspecting and unconscious addicts that were strewn about the place in varying states of high, and collected his 'package'. He met back up with her at the door to Backstreet Apparel and they walked back to Diamond City together.

“What'd I tell ya about that stuff?” He asked as he was thumbing through his new gains, “Nothin' but Deathclaw Wellingtons for you from here on out.”

“I'll thank you if this stuff actually _sells_ , Blondie,” She replied, just trying to keep a grip on the bag that she had thrown over her shoulder. She'd needed to re-accomodate most of it into a new bag that she'd had to piece together with a long coat and two belts that she'd found in the department store. She must look like a pack Brahmin while waddling through the streets and back towards Diamond City.

“Well, I can wait,” He mumbled as he greeted the same guards that he'd waved good-bye to when they were leaving just a couple hours previous. They really weren't gone for very long, it was just a little bit after lunch. Then again, they hadn't run into anything that had caused them any trouble.

It actually unsettled her. She'd gotten to Diamond City without much trouble due to sheer luck, and this seemed to be the same. Her luck couldn't hold out forever, Aunt Daisy had warned her about how dangerous it was even just a street over from Diamond City's gates. Feral ghouls were the worst problem that Security had to deal with most of the time, as raiders would have rather preyed on caravans than try an frontal assault on the well protected city.

Not that they had any luck with that either though, because of how well protected they usually were. All the caravans in the area were part of Bunker Hill, like a union, and they were adamant about keeping their caravans safe.

Bunker Hill, as she'd found out through subtly placed questions, was more or less the trading post of post-Boston and the immediate areas surrounding it. They got supplies, travelers, and news from as south as Atlanta, and as west as Junction City. She'd heard from someone who'd met someone from Junction City, and had told her that it was like a much larger Bunker Hill, and that it's convenient placing in nearly the center of the entirety of the U.S made it a booming trade city that serviced nearly every corner of North America.

She took the information with a pinch of salt though, you couldn't trust someone giving you knowledge that they got second-hand as well.

Information was always useful though, so she had been thinking about going out to Bunker Hill one of these days in hopes that she could run into someone who knew the state of that the rest of the country was in. She didn't hold out hope that there was a place that remained untouched by the war, but Amalthea wanted to know what was up.

Better prepared meant better survival.

 

Just past the gates of Diamond City, John McDonough said goodbye and disappeared towards Dugout Inn. She slugged her way through the outskirts of the marketplace, away from light and greedy hands, and took her things to the agency to go through with Aunt Daisy.

 


	28. Paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie, Cross, and Sarah return to Minefield in need of assistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS:  
> **  
>  VIOLENCE  
> GORE (Kind of?)  
> SEXY TIMES
> 
> Edit: So I was rereading my text document of this chapter and realized that thE SEXY TIMES SUCKED REALLY BAD. (I rewrote it, btw. So hopefully IT DOESN'T SUCK ANYMORE) Like was I high or something when I posted this? WTF was going through my mind when I let that shit slide through?
> 
> (To be honest though, I had rewritten it three times, so I probably didn't go over it again right before I uploaded it. I need to be more mindful of things!)

Charon

 _-November 12th, 2277_ -

 

Things were going along okay, as okay as they had been so far. Between all of them they were able to fit the newcomers into the house comfortably. He couldn't have imagined that they could have, but they had. There were vague plans to spread out sometime after Spring, but until then it was all just idle talk. The house didn't even feel that much more crowded than it had before, and when time came for the winter cold, there would be more bodies to heat the space. When they'd first come here and one of them had said that they could've gotten three families in here if this were the Vault, well, he believed it.

Maggie now slept with Ella and Cassidy, a little bed had been pushed into the corner of the room for her. They had to take out the armoire for the space. Walter and Harden now slept in the smaller room with Butch, having been able to cram in three whole beds when he had thought there would've only been room for two if you wanted no walking space. It was true though that one wall was now occupied by a bunk-bed, but even then it didn't look like any of them felt crowded in there. Harden happily took the top bunk, since he was light enough that they wouldn't worry about how sturdy the bed had to be, and Butch was below him. The male DeLoria twin had tied curtains (or bedsheets) to it, effectively making the bottom bunk a little 'den', and he'd read comics with Harden in their own little club. It did wonders for his shyness, that and Ella's lessons with the bb gun she'd given him, although the kid and Butch both complained of Walters' snores, who couldn't care less.

Stockholm had the entire attic to himself, and he was progressing on his crows nest on the roof while his leg was still healing. It was mostly healed now, thanks to a handful of stimpaks, but he still limped slightly, and there was probably a bruise left behind. Stockholm would let Harden and Watson take over watch for a few hours while he slept in the morning after breakfast.

Doc Church had taken over the downstairs bathroom, after they had cleared it out of remaining rubble, and it was now a small infirmary as well as their medical supply cache. He slept out in the Living Room with Gob and Moira along the far wall, and the rest of the room was more of a common room now. Some bed frames and old blankets made a simple divider between the two areas, giving the three something close to privacy.

His chair was still left empty for him, whenever it wasn't being used by him.

The armoire that had been moved out of Ella and Cassidys' room had been placed in front of the front doorway at night. It was bulky enough that it would stop anyone trying to enter into the house, but light enough that he could drag it to the other end of the mock foyer in under a minute with no problems.

They only ever didn't go outside if it was raining, which it was doing a lot of, but if Watson went out to search for nearby supplies, they'd go out of one of the kitchens' windows instead. It was facing the cliff, and hidden by a mass amount of junk and debris from the house, so it gave good cover whenever Watson left and entered by there.

And the teen was skinny enough for it to not be a problem, but it might pose difficulty to anyone bigger than Ella.

The traps that had been set by Butch were checked regularly by the teen as well, but nothing came back. They could have more luck when winter really set in, if one of the wastelands' creatures came out of hibernation in search of food. That was only if those same creatures hadn't gathered enough for the winter.

If not, they'd wait til Spring anyways.

 

It was going to be a long Winter, holed up in this house with all of these people.

 

Ella came by his seat, her hand drifted over his shoulder as she passed. It was a casual familiarity that she'd adopted gradually, and it still surprised him, the fact that it did still didn't mean that it was unwelcome. She was wearing comfortable clothing, so she wasn't expecting to leave the house today, unless she had thought about going out much later. Ella never left the house after dusk though.

So he had nothing but to sit downstairs in his chair to look forward to. He stood and followed her down and into the kitchen, where a meager breakfast awaited them. They were now officially rationing their food, unless one of the traps sprung, or a miracle fell from the sky.

“You think there's any close by places that we could scavenge at?” Cassidy asked Ella as they sat across from each other. The majority of their population were eating in the living room. A few of the survivors of Megaton were eating at the other end of the kitchen where they'd put another table and a set of mismatched chairs from one of the other houses. “You know, if or when a clear day rolls around, we could go do a quick-hit.”

Ella shrugged, “I didn't really see a whole lot of places that could viably have anything. There's some compounds in the north, but it looks like it might be raiders. Then there's the two in the west that I told you about, but we won't get much from there with all the trouble it will be.”

“East?”

She thought a moment, “Past the power station, I thought I saw a farm house, but it didn't look like anyone's been there since the war. It's probably all cleared out, with nothing in it. We might have a better chance at coming across another pissed off Yao Guai.”

Cassidy hummed, “Too bad we haven't gotten anything in the traps. I don't think that meat'll attract anything when Spring finally does roll around. By then it'll be too rotted to do any attracting at all. You check that other house yet? The one we couldn't get to?”

“Mm,” Ella said around some of her InstaMash, “Yeah, forgot to tell you. Didn't have much in it. It's where I got the pressure cooker and the stew pot though.”

Cassidy looked back to the two pans, as if to verify that they were there, “Yeah. All right, so we need to figure _something_ out.”

Ella shrugged and finished her breakfast before they began talking again, “What do you think the odds are that there's a cellar in that farm house that was overlooked?”

Cassidy hummed, “Well, a lot of things were overlooked after the bombs dropped, so, I'd say it would be something to at least look into.”

“How's the weather look?”

“Raining, but thinning out,” Watson had replied. They were probably the only ones who'd been out of the house so far today.

A knocking sound came shortly after the comment, and for a moment he thought it could have been some old rusted pipes that were rattling around from the difference in temperature between the outside and inside. The body heat of everyone kept the house at a good temperature, after, of course, they'd boarded the windows up properly.

But the knocking stopped and then started back up again, like as though someone were knocking at the _door_. The entire table seemed to realize this at the same time and every one of them jumped up from their seats.

Those who were eating in the Living Room, were standing by the open doorway. Those who had weapons had them out.

He pulled the armoire away from the front door, and with his shotgun slung across one arm, he opened the door, pointing the gun out towards whoever it was. There was no one immediately in front of him, but beside the door came a familiar voice.

“Nice to see you too, Charon,” Ella's brother popped into view.

Ella peeked around him, “Jamie? I thought you were off to a vault somewhere?”

“I was,” He sighed. They let him and his two companions in, “I need your help, or, at least, some advice.”

“With?”

Jamie frowned, “We _found_ the vault, but the only way to it is through a settlement. The only way they'll let us _into_ the settlement is if we go find some of their people.”

Ella seemed to think it over a moment before replying, “What do you mean _find_ some of their people?”

“More like _rescue_ ,” Cross replied, “Some of the residents of the settlement were captured by slavers and taken to Paradise Falls.”

A hundred thoughts went through his mind, most of all though was the logistics. Of course Ella would want to help, he could already see that she wanted to take them down as soon as her brother had mentioned the slavers to her before he'd left, but Paradise Falls was probably the best guarded settlement besides Tenpenny Tower in all of the Capital Wasteland. They weren't exactly the best trained or the most seasoned of fighters, even with Ella's skills as a sniper, they would be outnumbered.

“Worse still, they're just kids,” Jamie said, “The whole settlement couldn't be older than Simms and Maggie.”

That was the final nail, as everyone's eyes either widened, or a resolute look came over them. Ella was the latter. Like it or not, they'd be going to war with Paradise Falls. He had uncertain numbers to go on by the rumors he'd overheard while he was still at the Ninth Circle, there could be anywhere from a dozen or two of Slavers, to close to a hundred of them.

“Slavers I already hate, but to make children into slaves?” She sighed, “It's unimaginable that anybody would be that evil.”

“I'm sure there's probably worse out there,” Her brother replied.

She hummed, almost disappointingly, “Maybe I'll see worse, but right now, they are the worst.”

“It's all relative,” He sighed, almost tiredly. His sister seemed to pick up on the subtext of his words, 'it's only evil until you find someone who's even more evil'.

“So, what do we do?” Watson asked.

“As much as I want to go in and dismantle the entire place, I don't think we have the people for it,” Ella sighed.

Cassidy agreed with her, “And not everyone is in fighting condition.”

“We were hailed down by another settlement on our way back, too,” Sarah added, Jamie groaned almost inaudibly when she'd brought it up, Sarah ignored it, “They had people who'd been kidnapped by the super-mutants of Germantown, and all of them were only just a little bit older than the kids were. It's not like we can do anything about that, even if we weren't trying to figure out this whole mess with Paradise Falls.”

A look crossed Ella's face, he had only just recently learned that the look meant the very beginnings of an idea. And that he should probably be afraid of whatever was to come next.

“There couldn't be anything that can be done,” Cross said, “For either. But we need the G.E.C.K, and to even get access to it, we need to get those two children out of Paradise Falls.”

“Or can something be done about both?” Ella posed, still thinking. She turned to Jamie, “How well protected do you think Germantown is?”

He shrugged, “It's just a police station. There's a few guards, but they're all dumb and blind to actual dangers that aren't upfront.”

“So, a small team, a couple of people maybe, could get in and out with little resistance?”

“Yeah,” Jamie hummed, “But I don't see the point in that. Our target is the people in _Paradise Falls_.”

Cassidy eyed Ella warily, “What are you thinking about?”

“Fancy Lads.”

Cross and Jamie both shared similar expressions, he might've shared it with them too if he wasn't still waiting for an explanation, and both had cocked an eyebrow as if that were it's own question.

“Fancy Lads?” Sarah asked, skepticism dripping from her voice.

“To be more specific, ' _The Fancy Lads War_ ',” Ella added.

From Charons' spot, he could see Butch break out into the widest grin he'd seen on anybody. The male DeLoria sat up straighter in his chair, nearly bouncing in anticipation.

“What?”

“The Fancy Lads War,” Ella replied, “It was something that happened in the vault,”

Cassidy gave him a glance, “Like the _Tin Can Incident_ , except less tinnitus,” He was sure he could still hear the ringing in his ears at even the mention of what the twins had put together in Jefferson Memorial.

“The cafeteria staff and the vaults' engineers were never on good terms,” She explained quickly, “And it wasn't helped when food started to go missing. The cafeteria staff blamed the engineers, and the engineers said that they were using it as an excuse to get them in trouble, that the cafeteria staff were the ones doing it to frame them. It was at a stalemate for almost a year, until one night when _someone_ ,” Butch giggled at this, “Broke into the cafeteria and trailed Fancy Lads boxes and crumbs all the way to the power station. It was almost the _entire_ inventory of Fancy Lads he took. A _huge_ fight broke out in the morning, and it took every single security officer to break it up.”

“All right,” Butch said in between giggles, “To be fair to _me_ , most of them owed me money...”

“They _all_ owed the Tunnel Snakes varying amounts of money,” Cassidy corrected, “We sold the remaining Fancy Lads back to them for a good price.”

“Yeah, so it was more of making an example.”

“So...” Sarah looked between Ella and the DeLoria twins, “What does the... 'Fancy Lads War'... have to do with this?”

The grin was back on Butchs' face, Charon could feel that whatever was coming, was about to be _exciting_ , “We hit the Super-mutants, quick and quiet, spring whoever's been kidnapped there, then leave a trail leading the super-mutants to Paradise Falls. Then, we wait on the sidelines as the showdown happens, and jump out when its' most advantageous to us, kill whatever remains of both sides.”

“Two for the price of one.”

Charon was reminded of the Yao Guai that had attacked the raiders, and how Ella had only needed to spend one of her bullets to take a lot more than a raiders' boots and gloves. That, however, hadn't been on purpose, which was what Butch seemed to be proposing.

“Do you think that will work though?” Cross asked.

“Super-mutants are big and stupid,” Jamie said, “ _And_ a force to be reckoned with. If they thought that the slavers of Paradise Falls were stealing from them, there would be _hell_. From what I heard through my Talon sources months ago, they only really tolerate each other.”

“Even more _perfect_ ,” Butch continued to grin.

 

The rest of the day was spent planning for the hit against Germantown. It was going to be Butch, Ella (She was coming in case anyone needed medical attention, and she was better at applying stimpaks than Cassidy was. Doc Church was going to be the back-up Doctor, waiting just outside of Minefield in case he was signaled for an emergency), and himself. Cassidy and Stockholm were going to be keeping watch from the north, and Jamie, Cross, and Sarah keeping watch from the south. They were stationed in such a way that if the children didn't need any medical attention, Jamie, Cross, and Sarah would be able to take them immediately back to 'Little Lamplight', where they'd come from. Then they'd be able to go about their original mission for the G.E.C.K. All the other slaves would be whisked away to Minefield until they could be safely delivered to their previous settlements. Hopefully the slavers of Paradise Falls would have a nicely sized cache of food to help them through the winter.

Watson was gathering up the Yao Guai bones that had been discarded after being boiled for broth, and during the invasion of Germantown, would be creating a path that would lead right up to Paradise Falls, easy enough for even the super-mutants could follow. They were counting on the Super-Mutants not being able to tell human bones apart from any other kind of bones, even bones as big as Yao Guai.

Cassidy had brought out every single thing that she and Ella had ripped off of raider corpses and then put back together, and divvied it up to make them look more of the part, in case any of the super-mutants saw them, they could lead them back around to Paradise Falls and duck away at the last minute.

Ella had drawn on Jamies' map of approximately where both Germantown and Paradise Falls was, better than his vague writing that he'd had in it's place, and whatever cover she'd seen from on top of the water tower. From there they decided on their positions throughout each stage of the mission.

If the skirmish resulted in heavy casualties on both sides, it would be the best possible outcome, and they could clear the field and storm the rest of the slavers in Paradise Falls with ease. Anything less would make it so that their work would increased. They'd just have to deal with it as it happened.

 

- _November 13th, 2277_ -

 

It took a long while before they were actually ready to go, and they did so with Jamie leading the pack. He'd been through the land between the two places they were about to hit in quick succession. Cassidy and Stockholm broke off of their contingent first, spying a ridge that Ella had scoped out with her sniper rifle as being a good spot for them.

Then Watson took off after a quick look around, off to get as close to Paradise Falls as possible without getting spotted, and leaving her trail of bones back towards Germantown. There wasn't enough for the whole way, but when they got into the Super-Mutant hideout, they planned to take a few things to string along until it met up with Watsons' own trail.

They broke off next, watching the retreating backs of Jamie, Cross, and Sarah as they went to take up their own positions. He, Ella, and Butch stood in front of the North doors that led to the Germantown Police Station. They'd avoided what watchers there were, and the only guard to these doors was a lock that Butch was in the middle of picking. It was likely that the door had been locked for a hundred years and change, since most Super-Mutants weren't smart enough for locks or keys. Charon could only assume the rest of the Super-Mutants were inside or hanging around the south entrance.

The lock gave, and Butch led the way inside. There wasn't anyone in that back hallway though. Not even any defenses either. There was crying in a nearby room, and it seemed that it was entirely too easy of a mission.

The three of them crept into the other room, what had formerly been holding cells for Germantowns' Police Station. Blood, bones, and gore littered the ground, much of the floor was blackened from the staining materials. Even if someone were to go through the building and take out all of the Super-Mutants to reclaim it, the black stains of blood would never come out of that floor. The smell of it would never dissipate, either, he guessed.

Ella tapped the bars of the first holding cell, he couldn't see what was in it from his vantage point, but he assumed it was who they were here for. He made his way across the room to check out the other doorway, to see if there was any roving Super-Mutants, and when he saw that the hallway was clear of any dangers, he looked back to the holding cell.

She was teenaged, maybe a little older than Watson and a little younger than Ella, but she was definitely a teen. The girl was too skinny, probably had never been looked after properly in her entire life.

Ella talked with her quietly while Butch was picking the lock on the cell door. When he was done with his task, they pushed the bars a little, but it was stiff and rusty, unlikely to roll open without alerting everyone nearby. They stopped at only half an inch, and Ella continued to talk to the girl.

Finally, after what seemed like forever of Ella and the girl talking, she came over to where he had stationed himself and explained how things were going.

“We're going to get her out last,” She told him, “Her name's Red. She said that they've just taken her friend Shorty to the basement a little bit ago. Do you think that they'll still be alive?”

He grunted, “Unlikely, but on the off-chance that they are still alive, they won't be for long.”

“Unless we do something?”

“Yes.”

She nodded to herself, “Butch is going to stay here until we come back. So let's go.”

Butch was hiding down in a dark corner, warily looking out into the back hallway that they'd entered through, and holding a pistol close to him.

Without any more prodding, he took the lead and crept down the hallway that he'd just found to be cleared out. They walked to the end of it, then down an adjacent hallway. They passed blasted out rooms and crawled over the debris of fallen walls and ceilings, until they found stairs that led downward. He inspected them quickly, expecting some sort of traps to have been set, but then again they were up against Super-Mutants, so he shouldn't have been surprised to find nothing of the kind.

Sounds began to make themselves apparent as they made their way down, and into another hallway. The sounds were coming from one of the rooms, and he led Ella to it, and took a quick look around the doorway.

Reds' friend was huddled in a corner, shaking like a leaf, and there were two Super-Mutants standing over him, one of them had a sizable make-shift butcher knife held in his hand. The two of them were arguing which parts who would get to eat, eerily in the same manner that his family used to fight over the cuts of a turkey over Thanksgiving dinner. Both of them wanted the legs, the legs were a good cut, human or turkey, and so he wasn't surprised that they were fighting over a cut so popular.

He ducked back from the doorway, and as quickly as he could he told her that the boy was alive and that there were two Super-Mutants. How did she want this to be done?

 _She pulled out a fucking machete_. He didn't even know that she _had_ a machete. It even looked to have been recently sharpened too. Maybe it was Cassidys'?

Ella handed it over to him, which made much more sense considering that she was so short she wouldn't be able to get any good hits on them or have the power to drive it into them the way that would do any damage to them like he would be able to. She gave him a look.

He took it and gripped it tightly as he rounded the corner and into the room. As he got upon the knife-wielding Super-Mutant, he stood and plunged the machete as hard as he could into the back of its' neck, right where its' shoulders met.

The thing crumbled under him, but now the machete was stuck and he wasn't going to waste time trying to force it out of bone right now as the other Super-Mutant spun to look at him with a shocked look on its' twisted face.

He used the toe of his boot to kick up the overly large butchers' knife, and swung it at the second Super-Mutant before it could raise the alarm. The first slice just caught the skin, a thin line of blood came from the wound and dribbled down as the Super-Mutant made some strangled noise of surprise.

He reversed the blade, taking a large step forward, and the knife went through the Super-Mutants' jugular, spraying blood against the wall and counters that were already lined up with flesh and sinew from their human victims.

The third swing cut the other jugular and tendons, the fourth one hit his spine. The fifth swing did almost nothing in damaging the Super-Mutant, but on the sixth one, there was nothing left on the shoulders of what had once been a Super-Mutant. Its' head rolled on the ground pathetically. His arms were bloody up to his elbows as he pulled away from the kill.

Ella came through to the frightened captive, nonplussed by the fresh blood that covered him and the floor. He busied himself with prying the machete from the spine of his first victim. He turned to find that she was extremely calm, despite being in a Super-Mutants' death basement. To him, it felt like his heart was about to beat right out of his chest. It was a rush that he hadn't felt in a very long time, being able to kill something that was larger than himself up close and personal like what he'd just done. Last time must have been another Super-mutant, one of the ones that crawled around the Mall.

She calmed this new survivor down, and led him back through the doorway. He followed after them, machete in one hand and make-shift butchers' knife in the other, ready and waiting for anything else to arrive.

Making it back up to the holding cells safely, they found that Butch was still in the corner he'd picked out for himself, and nobody had come to check up on Red. Instead of taking the time to watch Red and her friend reunite, he went about a different task of dragging one of the big net-fulls of gore and bone to the back hallway, so that as soon as they sprung Red they could drag it out and leave a trail. The door would certainly be enough to alert other Super-Mutants to their arrival.

He didn't have to worry about that though, because when they were prepped and had opened the door of the cell to let Red out (She only needed a little space, and she was able to squeeze through), Butch pulled out a tin can, a bottle of med-x, and duct tape. If he were closer, he'd probably smell the whiskey and abraxo.

Ella and the two teens were the first to leave the building, and he held the door open, with one hand on the bag of bloody meat, while Butch completed the tin can noise maker. He dropped it to the ground and jumped over the bag, grabbing it with both hands as they drug it out through the back door.

“Go,” He signaled to Ella, and she began to lead the two they had rescued out towards where Cassidy and Stockholm would be stationed. The sound the tin can was making started up immediately, before the back door of the police station was even closed, and the mustering of Super-mutants as they went to investigate the noise appeared just behind it. They were thankfully far enough away that the sound didn't whistle in his brain like it had at the Jefferson Memorial.

He and Butch were dragging the bag as quickly as they could, every once in awhile he'd turn and give it a little kick, to ensure that a piece would fly out of the bag and onto the trail of blood they were leaving on the ground.

The sound of the tin can was far behind them now, as well as Super-Mutant screams and roars. Some were speaking to each other, some were just in pain or realizing that their dinner had now gone away from them.

He kept kicking the bag whenever he could, and when he did so, he'd take a look backwards, where in the dim light he could see a group of Super-Mutants following the trail quite a distance behind them. Two of them, he assumed at the head of the group, were carrying a burning barrel to use for light to see in front of them. He was thankful that they didn't have good eyesight, and that they were much farther ahead of the Super-Mutants.

The two of them got faster as the bits of meat and bone bounced out of the sack, and it was nearly empty when they came across Watson.

Watson waved them down, indicating where their own trail had ended, and they dumped the bag there, hauling ass away from the line and towards where Cassidy and Stockholm would be stationed. He could have easily outpaced them, but he made sure that they were in front of him at all times as they escaped from the evidence they'd left behind.

A good thing too, because Watson had stumbled, and without stopping he hauled them up and steadied them, then continued to run. They rounded around an outcropping of rocks, Ella was already perched on top with her sniper rifle, viewing what was about to happen. Stockholm was also keeping an eye on what was happening, and Cassidy handed him a pair of binoculars as it was her turn to calm down Red and her friend who had escaped the clutches of certain death.

He scrambled up the rocks, taking his place next to Ella, and peered down into the darkness. He could only make out the fire barrel, and the two Super-Mutants that were carrying it. Beyond them it was only dark shapes against a dark landscape, until the platoon of Super-Mutants arrived at the doorstep of Paradise Falls.

As soon as they did, the slavers that had been stationed around (Or above) the gates had large fires lit, like beacons in the night. It didn't seem like they were signaling for anyone, only lighting up the gates to see the threat below them. Lucky for them, they were now able to see the proceedings.

Shots began to sound off as the Super-Mutants pounded on the gates, none of the slavers' guns could down any of the Super-Mutants, their skulls were one of the thickest parts of them, so shooting downwards was a waste.

They could hear the cracking of the gates as they broke down and the Super-Mutants rushed through. The slavers from on top of the make-shift ramparts disappeared as they turned to fight the threat inside their own base.

The weapons were put away or thrown over the shoulder, and they stood from the outcropping and began to sprint down towards Paradise Falls. Opposite them was Jamie, Cross, and Sarah, doing the same thing. They met, each group opposite the gates of Paradise Falls.

He and Cross were the first two to look into the compound, a flurry of fighting was going on, as the slavers tried their best to fight off the Super-Mutants. Half a dozen slavers were already downed, and only about two Super-Mutants and fallen. There were still maybe two more dozen slavers, just estimating by the sound of successive gunfire, and maybe ten more Super-Mutants from what he could see. It was more likely they'd be fighting the last few Super-Mutants, rather than cleaning out the last of the slavers.

The sound of an explosion caused him and Cross to duck back into their cover, as shrapnel flew past them. An old propane tank, either rigged to explode in case of an invasion or hit accidentally, had gone off, and he could hear the moaning cries of slavers and shrieks of Super-Mutants that the explosion had hit.

When he (and Cross) had turned back to look into Paradise Falls, half of each side remained, and it was going quickly. He counted in his head as each fighter went down, as the tide of battle swayed between the combatants.

He was wrong – there were four slavers left when the last of the Super-Mutants had gone down. Cross signaled to those behind her to be ready, and he did the same for those behind him.

They waited for a few extra moments, he and Cross watched closely as the last of the slavers sighed in relief of having made it through the battle. Three of them holstered their guns, and that was when he burst from around the corner. Cross must've figured out why they were waiting a little while longer, because she had gone around the corner at almost the same time as he had. The last four slavers went down before everyone could even get around the corner.

They hardly used any of their own ammo, and they would come out of this with much more than they'd expended. He led the way into Paradise, using a pistol that had been given to him as a back-up to his shotgun to kill those who were left on the ground and bleeding out, but still alive enough to maybe pull out a gun if they could muster the strength to.

Everyone else did the same as they walked further in. They pass a U-bend, and the rest of the group began to splinter off to check each doorway for slaves or hiding slavers. He'd walked to the very end of Paradise Falls, where the old statue that belonged to a Burger Bunker was still standing with its' ice cream cone. God he missed cheeseburgers.

The pens were visible, the slaves were shivering in the cold of the night with nothing on them except old and battered clothes to shield them from the weather. Cassidy and Jamie disappeared into the pens, and came back, shepherding slaves towards the group. Butch and Sarah had found the children in another pen nearby.

Jamie shifted nervously, “I didn't see Eulogy Jones among the dead.”

Ella looked over the ragged group, her eyes dark, though he could have misread her expression in the dark of the night. She said quietly, “Well, then we should find him.”

One slave was able to point in the direction of Eulogy's pad, an old movie theater, and they went immediately. Jamie led the way this time, opening the door slowly and with a pistol drawn and ready to fire, should anything be on the other side of the door.

He'd taken his shotgun back out, and Ella stood behind him, a hunting rifle ready as well. There wasn't anyone else after Ella, as someone had quickly mentioned that there was another slave somewhere, 'in the box', and they went to go retrieve him. The rest probably stayed behind to protect the slaves and get their collars off.

They crept through, one after another, quiet as ghosts. There wasn't any sound or clue that there was even anyone in here.

The second room, that had once been the main room of the theater where concessions were sold, had a large bed, in the shape of a heart, and light fixtures and décor was very sexually provocative. How fucking romantic, right?

“Charon,” Ella whispered, her gun clattered to the ground.

He turned on his heel, if he'd had any hair left on the back of his neck, it'd be standing up. Behind Ella was Eulogy Jones and a knife at her throat. Jamie had turned around to see, and gave a strangled cry and a half a step forward to try to help his sister.

The knife pressed closer to her throat, and Jamie stopped.

“Drop the guns.”

His shotgun was dropped to the floor, without a second thought. Jamies' gun had found its' way to the floor too. Not a few seconds had gone past that there was a knife pressed against his back in a threatening manner. He chanced a sideways look, and saw that there was a woman behind Jamie, another knife in her hand and pressing against his back as well. He could only come to the conclusion that there was a matching woman and knife behind him.

“Which one should we kill first, Eulogy?” One of the women asked impatiently as he had turned his attention back to Ella and Eulogy.

Eulogys' eyes darted between the two of them, “The girl, of course.”

The contract demanded that he protect her at all costs. She was the holder of the contract, and she must be protected at all costs. That demand was what caused him to take a step forward.

Eulogy didn't expect him to just lunge forward, faltering slightly, and in another large step he grabbed the knife by the blade and wrenched it away from Ella's throat. She ducked out of the way, just as he gave a right hook and knocked Eulogy against the wall.

With him concussed and unarmed, he turned back to the two women. Jamie was fighting for control of one of the blades, and keeping the other away from him with kicks when he could. They had the slave collars on, but they were going after them in a crazy fashion. They'd both must have been brainwashed, since they appeared to be slaves themselves, considering the bomb collars. He stepped to them and decked one of them, blood spurting from her nose as she screamed and dropped her knife. She crumpled to the ground, and he left Jamie to fight the other one.

He returned to Eulogy, crushing the Slavers' hand as he had tried to reach for a weapon, slit his throat, and left him to groan and bleed out. Then he attended to Ella, who was sitting on the floor, seemingly staring at something very important at the wall opposite her.

“Ella?”

She blinked at looked up to him, a small sliver of a cut against her skin, not even deep enough to cause her to bleed. It was just a shallow red line. She was incredibly lucky to have survived it, he was surprised that she hadn't taken any other damage than that.

She reached a hand up to him, and he helped her to her feet. Jamie came by once he'd finished with Eulogys' two crazy fan girls.

Labored breathing and Eulogy's mad gurgles and thrashes as he tried to stop the bleeding were the only sounds left in the building. It quieted when the three of them had regained their breath and Eulogy became the former leader of Paradise Falls.

“Are you all right?” Jamie asked Ella.

“I'm fine,” She said quietly. There was no shaking in her voice, and she picked up her rifle carefully.

When she came back she looked to him, her eyes widened, “You're bleeding.”

“I'll be fine,” He replied, hiding his palms. The wounds would heal.

“Are you sure you don't need a stim?”

“S'not deep.”

She grumbled something like a 'you should at least let me bandage them up', but let it go. He couldn't help but feel she'd bring it back up later. They left the old movie theater, Watson was let in to pick over the last of the loot that needed to be gathered.

 

The collars were seen to by one of the children of Little Lamplight, Charon was sure his name was Squirrel, and he was only pretty sure because it was such an odd name that it stuck to his mind. Squirrel had (apparently) been studying the collars while they had been in the pens, so he was about the closest thing to the best they had.

No ones' head exploded, thankfully.

“I've... uh...” Red was seemingly at a loss of words as the teen looked over the carnage of the battlefield, “I'm the only medic of Big Town, so I gotta go.”

She turned to them, “Thank you, so much. You can't imagine how scared we were.”

There was only to look at Shorty to confirm that none of them have probably ever been that scared. He had been the closest to death when they'd found him in the Super-Mutant kitchen, and now he was shivering in the morning air, and he might have had a wet spot on his pants.

“Can you get back from here?” Ella asked her, her voice was steady, as though she hadn't all just been through what had happened in Eulogy's broken theater.

Red looked to the south, “Yeah. I know how to get back from here.”

Ella nodded shallowly, “Do you know where Minefield is?”

“I... I think so.”

Jamie came with his map and showed it off to her. He pointed in the general direction, and she understood where it was after that.

“If you need any help, come find us, okay?”

Red nodded, and began to help her friend Shorty away from the scene they found themselves at. Jamie came to stand next to Ella.

“The kids' are okay,” They all looked back to where Sarah and Cross were. Sarah was holding one of the children, and Cross was holding the other two. Some of them seemed like they should have been too big to be carrying around, he thought. Then he thought some more, and realized that the children probably hadn't had very many experiences or chances to be held by an actual adult. They were part of a settlement that was nothing but children.

Jamie continued, “So I guess we'll be going then.”

He and Ella shared a brief hug, and then he left to go quickly with his two traveling companions, and the three children. In only a few more hours, they would be back to where they belonged.

It left them with the slaves of Paradise Falls. He wasn't worried about having enough food for the winter anymore, as Cassidy, Butch, Watson, and Stockholm were bringing loads of food out from the slavers' private stashes and trying to split them enough so that each person could take as much as they could carry.

“Welp,” Rory, the man in the box, said as he came back from saying farewell to the young girl who'd refused to go without them saving him, “I guess I'll hit the road. Off to Megaton, I think.”

“Oh...” Ella frowned, “Megaton isn't... _there_... anymore.”

“Oh,” He looked around, “Okay. So... you guys are from a settlement... right?”

“Minefield, yeah.”

“Minefield?” He asked, “You mean Ridgefield?”

She shrugged, “I don't know. It was called Minefield when I first heard about it.”

Rory shrugged too, “Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Do you think we'll be accepted there?”

Over his shoulder, he could see that the other slaves (he needed to start remembering their names, so he made the extra effort to put their names to their faces in his mind as he observed them) were talking with Cassidy, just as Ella had been talking with Red and Shorty and now Rory about where they would go.

Bleak, which was a terrible fucking name, was nearly dragging Bronson, who was already exceedingly drunk, towards the direction that Cassidy was pointing to, towards Minefield. After a few feet or so, she dropped him on his ass and went back to help Cassidy, Butch, and Stockholm with the food that had been taken.

Jeanette (An old ghoul whom the children had called her Miss Jeanette), was helping Breadbox (another terrible name) along as the old man went on as much as he could muster. He seemed to not understand what was going on, entirely contented with being a slave and not understanding that he was free, so they all told him that he'd been bought, and hoped that he wouldn't notice they'd already taken his collar off.

“Well, yes. I mean, this is about half of us right here,” She said, “So I'm _fairly_ certain.”

“Ah, okay,” There was an awkward silence, but Ella took the lead and walked back across the battlefield and to where they were dividing the food up. Whatever bags they were using had been found in Paradise Falls, and as soon as the food was gathered up, Cassidy had gone out to rip off boots and coats and whatever else she could find from the slavers that now lay dead. They probably had the best that could be bought, considering that they had the money to spend, and it didn't look like they were spending it all on booze and women.

A little after the food and drink had been (mostly) evenly distributed, Cassidy had returned with her new bundle of leather goods and metal pieces and screws and all kinds of other things. With everything split, they began to make their way in the direction of Minefield in the cold silence of morning.

They took some time to rest, and when they'd finally made it back to Minefield, it was almost noon. They'd spent the entire night up doing this, and a little of the day too. The others dragged themselves back to the house, Ella making some whispered excuse that she'll be there soon. They'd taken whatever load of food back to the house to leave them in peace.

She just stood in the middle of the street, he imagined her face being sullen, but she was facing away from him. When everyone else had disappeared, he approached her, making sure he made as much noise as he could as to not startle her.

She still jumped slightly at the sound of his footsteps. Ella spun, to look at him, even before fully turning there was relief in her eyes. She had just forgotten momentarily in all of the shock and excitement that had happened. Ella was more brave than he'd expected, and more brave than anyone else probably knew. She'd kept her fears to herself until she'd been alone, or at least, nearly alone.

Ella leaned into him immediately, resting her head against his chest. For a moment he dumbly stood there, then gave her shoulder a few pats before bringing his other arm up to hold her. It was almost like a hug, but not quite. He had no idea what it was that he should be doing, especially since it seemed she needed some kind of support right now. He was never any good at stuff like that.

She looked up at him, her big doe eyes staring up at him with so much trust.

She kissed him.

Or had he kissed her?

It didn't matter, as he pulled away from the kiss after a few moments, Ella looking at him with an expression of curiosity.

“You don't want me,” He said, his voice sounded even more ragged in his ears, the repeated, “You don't want me...”

She kissed him, it was definitely her this time, and she whispered onto his lips, “Don't I get to decide that?”

He was stunned, because he'd never thought that this would happen to him. Of course he'd _fantasized_ about it, there was only so much he could have done while standing around in a bar and occasionally throwing out the drunks and running errands.

Ella wasn't like the women he'd think about, and tougher than most people realized. Her smile made all of him ache whenever he saw it, he lived for those little smiles. When they were directed at him, it was the most bittersweet, knowing that he loved her but didn't deserve her.

And he couldn't see himself just having a one off with her either, his fantasies and dreams that held her were all touching, feeling her against him... loving her the way a pre-war husband loved his pre-war wife on some little television sit-com that was lovely and wholesome and they'd have the perfect house and the perfect children and the perfect life.

This wasn't all of that though.

He just prayed to whoever would listen that it wasn't another nightmare.

It was impossible not to think about her, especially after she had kissed him the first time. Her cheek was once again resting against his make-shift raider chestplate, and a little sound came out of her. He only realized after she'd finished talking what it was that she had actually said.

“What if I died tomorrow?”

Of course she wouldn't die tomorrow, they'd just taken out their two closest threats to them with ease, but he still understood the sentiment. What was the point of all this worrying he had done about who she should or should not be with, when at any moment the wasteland could snatch you away? That knife had been awfully close to her neck.

“Charon?” The sound of his name snapped him out of his thoughts, but it was so quiet he had almost missed it.

“Yes?”

“Let me bandage your hand.”

He'd actually forgotten about the wound, but she pulled away and gently took his hand into both of hers, surveying the damage done to it with the efficiency and critical eye of any experienced doctor. He had to remind himself that her father had been a doctor.

It really wasn't that bad though, at least, he'd thought so. She'd had a different opinion, and probably had wanted to give him a stim just in case, but she didn't bring it up. She just sifted through her remaining backpack and pulled out the bandages that she needed.

It was quick work, and too soon finished. She had even thought so, since she continued to hold his hand in both of hers. Her hands were so much smaller than his, more delicate, but becoming cold in the chill of the air.

When he couldn't stand it anymore, he pulled his hand away and cupped both of hers within his and pulled her hands close. He breathed warm air into the little cocoon he'd made, trapping her hands, and bringing them back up to the warmth that they should have been.

“Charon?”

“Yes?”

Their eyes met. He couldn't explain, but he could tell what she was thinking just by how her pupils shifted as she looked up at him.

“Do you... want to come to bed with me?”

He couldn't lie, not to her and not to himself, “Yes.”

She shifted, her eyes nervously flicked away from him, “Come to bed with me?”

He had to force himself to breath out, “Yes.”

She looked back up at him from underneath her long lashes, and he couldn't help but bend down to kiss her. It was definitely him this time.

Her hands clumsily came up, touching the chestplate and shoulders, then drifting up to his neck and jaw. One of his hands had threaded into her hair, and the other along base of her neck, his thumb rubbed gently at the skin of her jaw just under her ear.

He really, really hoped that this wasn't another nightmare.

They broke away after a number of minutes, she was panting wildly for breath. She looked away, only for a moment, then she drug him towards the door of the nearest unoccupied house. She didn't really drag him though, more that she urged him and he followed after her like a lovesick puppy.

With her back up against the door, she fumbled for the handle as they resumed their kissing. It deepened, their tongues met and danced. All while she tried to open the door behind her. After fiddling with it for some time, he was as fed up as she was, so he gave the door a forceful push from around Ella.

Maybe the lock broke, but the door stayed on its' ancient hinges, and came open just enough for them to slip inside. He had to give it another push to close it, the force of it rattled what remained of the windows and the boards that were covering them.

It made the living room that much darker, only little streams of the new days' light came through and sprinkled around where they kissed and touched.

While their tongues danced, he reached up under her armor and under her shirt, his rough skin brushed against hers. His breath caught in his throat; what he could remember of things that had been soft had nothing on Ella.

They broke apart again, he found that they'd already made their way onto the couch, and she pushed him away and sat up. He sat on his knees, more confused than upset or worried, until Ella began to unbuckle her armor.

He struggled with quickly doing the same with his own armor, being unused to it and wanting to catch up to her. After that, it all became a blur of kissing, touching, tasting... fingers and nails and tongues and teeth, all a whirlwind past him.

Charon had wanted to savor the moment, if only for today, Ella was _his_ Ella, but it was all going by so fast, and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He could only quickly admire her velvety white skin before they had resumed kissing and touching.

He trailed his kisses downward, her hands trembled at his shoulders and he could feel her staring down at him. He brought her knees up to rest on his shoulders, taking a quick peek up to see if she was nervous or hesitant, in which case he would have stopped. What greeted his vision was her head tilted slightly back, her eyes closed, and her bottom lip stuck between her teeth. Her breath hitched when his tongue delved down into her, savoring every part of her as she continued to shake. His hands traveled back up her sides and to her ribs as he continued his work on her, her breath laboring under his fingertips.

“ _Charon_ ,” She moaned, nails raking across his shoulders. He pulled away from her and came back up to be face to face with her. She had wrapped her legs around his hips reflexively as he did so, biting her lip and laying her head backwards at just the right angle to utterly entice him to go for her throat. She gasped as he began to kiss and suck and gently bite.

He used it as a distraction before he pushed into her, she tensed up immediately at the intrusion, but moaned breathily into the air around them. It wasn't difficult to be with her, she was slick with sweat and saliva and her own lubrication. She panted and swore under her breath, he allowed her time to get used to him, allowing himself to take in all the little movements she made. The way that she trembled against him, how her chest heaved, how she looked up at him through her eyelashes in a way that he hadn't expected her to.

Keeping the eye contact, he began to move, each little thrust caught her breath. Her eyes never wavered from his face, and he couldn't have convinced himself to look away from her sweat soaked face and those beautiful eyes that she had.

Quickening his pace and driving further in, he was becoming undone fast, holding off for Ella. She was moving her hips against him in anticipation of an orgasm, gasping and clutching at him. She was screaming as she made it to her peak. He continued, and every movement after she had already had her orgasm was paradoxically slick and tight, and he continued just until he could cum. He crumbled down on top of her, keeping himself propped up on his elbows so he wouldn't crush her, and listening to her breathing and sighs of pleasure as she slowly came down from her high.

He gathered her up in his arms, flipping them so that she was lying on top of him. He grabbed his jacket and tugged it over her body.

He looked down to her as she lay atop of him, one cheek resting on his shoulder and all he could really see was her dark hair. Brushing it out of the way he wanted to commit her content face to memory. Her entire body was now flushed with the activity, her dark hair was a messy halo that cascaded down across his shoulder and down over the side of the couch.

Ella's breath evened out, she shifted, then relaxed against him.

 

She was already asleep.

 


	29. First Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie, Cross, and Sarah arrive at Vault 87; Ella, Cassidy, and Butch see their first snow.

James Rhodes Jr.

- _November 13th, 2277_ -

 

It was near dinner time when they'd made it back to Lamplight Caverns, they'd stopped for lunch, for the sake of the children. Now every child in Little Lamplight was gathered around as their previously captured friends regaled them in the story of their rescue. The fighting, the bloodshed, how an army of Super-Mutants had raided Paradise Falls, and how a massive ghoul and the tallest mungo woman they'd ever seen had led the way through and slaughtered the remaining slavers. They had Cross to show that they weren't embellishing any part of it, and whispered that the ghoul was even taller than she was.

There were also news of Red and Shorty, the two that had been rescued from Germantown first, and Jamie realized that 'Big Town' was where the kids went when they got too old to continue to live in Little Lamplight. All of the children still remembered those two, and he thought back to when they'd stumbled upon the settlement as they were trekking back to Minefield. The kids there were all very young, too young to be defending themselves. Little Lamplight had the advantage of a secret and very defendable location, whereas Big Town (as he'd been told) was constantly under siege.

It seemed that once they made it to Big Town, they didn't live much longer.

He decided that it was best to not bring that up to the children that were present, because Germantown and Paradise Falls had both been taken out, and Big Town was now known to Ella. If anything, she'd invite them back to Minefield. With the addition of the slaves of Paradise Falls, they were well on their way to becoming a major city in the Capital Wasteland.

One that nobody knew about – yet. It scared him, because if the Brotherhood didn't resolve this shit with the Enclave soon, they'd become known. The Enclave was a much scarier threat than roving bands of raiders. They were a _real_ threat, and news was buzzing around about them on all the radio stations he could pick up. Three-Dog was the best source for the news though, and with better equipment, he could hear the broadcasts from farther away.

What really worried him were the codes that Three-Dog would read out. Cross and Sarah would become much more interested as long as the code was being said, though they tried to hide their interest from him. He let it slide.

They were given food for dinner, they and the children of Lamplight Caverns ate in a large misshapen circle. The dinner was nothing more than beans heated up with ground up Razorgrain to act as a filler.

After dinner, everyone was called to the opening of the cave to look at the first snowfall of the year. Jamie was glad to have made it before it had started snowing, and hoped it didn't get too cold during the night.

He, Cross, and Sarah were shown to some beds, and he laid down and waited for morning.

“Why did Moira have to turn into a ghoul?” Sarah asked quietly from beside him. She was asking him the question, trying to keep it low so that Cross wouldn't hear. She might've heard anyways, he didn't know if cyborgs had better hearing or not, but it was probably just that it was deadly quiet around Sarah's voice, which made her whispering stand out.

“She just has the genetic code for it,” He shrugged to himself. Moira should be glad to just be alive, and Sarah was worried about her being a ghoul.

“What do you mean?'

He sighed, “From what I know, people become ghouls when they're exposed to large amounts of radiation, but they need the right genetic makeup for it to work. You'll see whole families that turn into ghouls, because the gene was passed down from parents to their children.”

“But... that means that none of them asked for it...”

He turned to her, staring hard at the outline of her face in the darkness. There was an oil lamp somewhere, but too far away to be of any help to the area they were sleeping in.

“Did you really think that anybody _asked_ to be a ghoul?”

She was curled up quietly, apparently thinking it over in her mind. He didn't fault her for being so confused, she'd grown up in the Brotherhood all her life, the fear and anger had been ingrained into her without the reasons why she should be afraid or angry at ghouls.

He continued, “She was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky to have survived that blast, and unlucky to have gone through the process.”

Cross' voice came through the darkness, “She was lucky she hadn't turned into a feral right then and there.”

He hummed in agreement, “The blast could've rotted her entire brain, and would've turned her into just another mindless monster. I don't think Moira would've liked that very much.”

Sarah stayed silent, he and Cross let the subject die, and he tried to get some sleep before they had to venture down 'Murder Pass'.

 

 

Ella Rhodes

- _November 13th, 2277_ -

 

The first thing she did when she woke up was shiver. Her legs were cold, despite the sweat around her breasts. She looked up to find that Charon was already awake.

“Good morning,” She said and laid her head back against his chest.

“More like ' _good evening_ ',” He mumbled down at her.

Ella looked back up, finding that outside the boarded up windows, it was growing dark, “Oh. We slept all day, didn't we?”

“ _You_ did.”

“ _Oh,_ ” She laughed, “Well, it was a long night...”

“I wasn't criticizing,” He replied, “How do you feel?”

“ _Sore_.”

She hummed, his heartbeat was steadily pounding beneath her ears, she liked being this close to him, feeling his skin against hers, “We should probably go. They'll all be wondering where we went.”

“They probably know,” He said simply.

She giggled, “Probably. But I'm kind of hungry.”

He grunted as he got off of the couch, dragging her with him in a flurry of giggling screams, and then stood both of them up. He gathered the clothes they'd been wearing, and she began to dress just as he did.

When they were both done, she turned to him, then got up on her tip-toes and kissed him. She had only thought to give him a short kiss, but he kissed her back, and she liked it, so the kiss continued. She broke away when she was out of breath, and laid her head against his chest.

They stood like that for a couple minutes, and when they stood apart from each other, he went about the task of gathering up their armor. She led the way to the door and opened it, gasping as she did at the sight that was before her.

Charon came up behind her quickly, nearly stumbling over himself.

“What's going on?” She looked back to him questioningly.

He peered out, “It's snowing.”

Little flakes were falling from the sky, some of them were white, some of them were a pale green color. Irradiated, _definitely_. There were clumps of it gathering all around Minefield, making half of the landscape the same color.

“It's _amazing_.”

 

When they'd come through the front door, they were ushered into the kitchen by Cassidy, who gave them both a sly smile. Butch had one to match from his spot at the table.

“How're the new ones?” She asked, wanting to avoid the prying of the DeLoria twins.

“Breadbox is still being looked over by the Doc, and that guy Bronson needs some sobering up,” Cassidy said, placing platefuls of food in front of the two of them, “But everyone's happy to have a warm and dry place to sleep. I went back through some of our old things and got them all into some different clothes. As of now, we don't have any extras, in case anyone gets soaked.”

“I'm sure we'll survive for now,” She hummed, “We can get more later on, when we have the opportunity to go out looking for more supplies. Speaking of, how's the food situation looking?”

“Much better, thanks to some greedy slavers,” Cassidy replied, “They were hoarding that food. We could lift the rationing, but I thought it might be better if we didn't for right now. I mean, we don't know when we'll be able to go hunting or scavenging.”

“Yeah, I think it'll be better too. We'll just have to wait out winter.”

Butch grumbled. Watson kicked him under the table.

“Where will everyone sleep?” The teen asked.

Ella shrugged, “We'll have to requisition one of the other houses.”

Cassidy sighed, “I don't like the idea of splitting up like that. Sure, if this were Megaton and we were beyond a gate, but we don't. And with the temperature decreasing and the storms coming up... I don't think it would be reasonable to halve our 'population'.”

“That's a good point,” She hummed, and thought it over for a minute, “There's still room enough in the Living Room for some small beds, but there's also the attic.”

Cassidy shrugged, “I'd say keep Breadbox down in the Living Room, maybe Jeanette too. They'd have a bad time going up and down from the attic all day. I hardly think that Breadbox would make it upstairs.”

“That leaves getting mattresses though. There's enough throughout Minefield, but it's also about moving them.”

“We'd have to at least wait until it stops snowing,” Watson said helpfully.

“We need them tonight though,” Cassidy groaned, “There's nothing we can do?”

“Well, we could just do it and get it done.”

“We've already lost the light,” Butch pointed out.

“We've got lanterns, don't we?”

 

Cassidy was gathering up volunteers, while she, Charon, and Butch went to one of the other houses to drag the mattresses from throughout the house down to the front door. By the time they were done with the first set of mattresses, the others had come to collect them, and they moved to another house. They quickly decided after the first house that it would be better to just strip all of the houses of their mattresses, and figure it out from there, rather than have to go back for more later on.

Watson was set to the task of gathering up couch and chair cushions and anything else they thought would be useful.

They went to each house and took each mattress down to the front doors, with the exception of the house that had been completely buried, until there were none left. They'd even found a sleeping bag that had been rolled up and tied tightly under a bed, and took that too.

When the mattresses were collected, they were stacked and held above everyone's heads as they marched it back to the house. She, Charon, and Butch followed the last procession, with Watson trailing behind with pillows piled up in their arms.

All of it had been deposited in the middle of the living room, Cassidy and Butch began to detail where they could possibly place every mattress in the best way possible, to allow maximum room and comfort. Butch had suggested taking out the desk, but Cassidy quickly smacked him and reminded him what a good income her restored books would make when caravans started up again.

It reminded her of something she should've done a long time ago.

“I've, uh... gotta go do something,” She said, then apologized as she left to go upstairs. Charon followed her, which was good because she didn't dare think about what kind of winking and nudging the DeLoria siblings would do if she had asked Charon to follow her up.

He stood just outside the door, and she rummaged through the desk. She'd left the little yellow book in a drawer, and had totally forgotten it in the face of a lot of different things happening in a short amount of time. The night it was supposed to have been finished was the night that a band of raiders had shown up on their doorstep.

She checked the book over, just in case, and found it in perfect condition. She could feel herself practically bounce across the room and to where Charon had been patiently waiting, and she presented the book to him.

“It was done awhile ago, but, well, things came up and I forgot for a little bit.”

Charon was frozen for a second, then reached and took the little book from her carefully, “You fixed it?”

“It was a lot harder than my usual projects, but yeah,” She bit her bottom lip, “I... uh... you know...”

He looked at her, expectantly.

“He... he dedicated the book to you.”

Charon turned back to the book and flipped it to the first page, his name was there, sitting on the page plainly, “You knew what my real name was?”

She opened her mouth, but a jumble of incoherent words came out.

When she paused for breath, he spoke again, “Why didn't you say anything?”

“I didn't... think that I was allowed.”

His eyes met hers, the pale blue piercing her, “Why would you think that?”

She looked away, then shrugged, “I just... you didn't tell me. And I mean, I didn't realize that it was your name until I had finished inking it.”

He touched her elbow softly, and she looked up at him. He silently asked her.

“ _John_ ,” She said to him. She hadn't even dared to say it or test it on her tongue, even when everyone was asleep and she was the furthest apart from him as he would allow. There were a lot of Johns, especially in the old novels that they had to read down in the Vault. But this one _tasted_ different to her. It was _his_ name.

He took a step forward, a large hand planted itself above her hip, and he bent down to kiss her. It was short, and it was sweet. He broke away, too marveled by the book.

He wanted to read it, but she was curious, “If I ask a question, will you answer, only if you want to answer me?”

His attention was drawn away, and was wholly put onto her, he nodded once.

“Why did he think you were dead?”

Charon frowned, “Because the government told him I was.”

 

 

James Rhodes Jr

 _-November 14th, 2277_ -

 

In the morning, he got a better look at the caverns that the children of Little Lamplight lived in. The cavern itself looked to have been a naturally occurring structure, but there was old wood everywhere, creating walkways that snaked through the cave system to where the children had set up shops. Hanging lights and lanterns lit up the entire area, making it so that it wasn't even dim.

The kids of Little Lamplight were a lot more comfortable around them. Everyone wanted to see what they could trade with them, Knick Knack and Knock Knock, the twins of Little Lamplight, wanted just about anything they could find and jokes and stories (respectively). Knock Knock (Sue, as he'd found out), was Little Lamplights' 'security officer', but she mostly traded stories and jokes to 'keep up morale'. Her brother was a shop-owner, or as much as one could be in a settlement of children.

Eclair, the chef of the children, wanted to know if they had brought any food back with them. Jamie was horrified to learn that the kids here lived off of cave fungus when the scavenger team couldn't find anything.

Zip, the kid who talked a mile a second, wanted Nuka-Cola, Lucy, the resident doctor, wanted to trade for some stimpaks, and Joseph, the oldest in Little Lamplight at the age of fifteen and teacher to the younger residents, wanted to know if they had brought any useful books with them.

Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny, the scavenger team, hadn't been able to bring back anything useful, what with having been captured by slavers, so it was logical that the rest of their settlement would look to the 'mungos' for trade.

They traded what they could, and he even bought up a 'Wazer Wifle' from a kid named 'Biwwy'. Sarah was about to ask what was up with his speech impediment, but he managed to kick her in the shin before she'd gotten the entire sentence out.

There were also a large pack of dogs that stayed down here with the children, he only remembered one of their names' because he thought it was funny (It was Muttface).

After trading and buying and interacting with most of the children, Mayor MacCready gave Joseph the go ahead to open up 'Murder Pass' to let them through to Vault 87. The rest of them gathered up at the gate, and wished them luck, and told them they hoped they didn't die. They'd gotten a few feet into Murder Pass when the door closed and locked behind them.

“They don't really think that we're going to die in here, do they?” Sarah asked.

“It's called _Murder Pass_ , what do _you_ think?” He replied, holding the lantern they'd been given up for them to see. He had a pistol in his other hand, and thought it would be best if it were him holding the lantern, because the other two were both riflemen. He wouldn't have wanted Cross to be gimped by having to hold up a light source for them, she was the best combatant of the three of them.

Whenever something came up, Cross would surge ahead of them and take out the enemy before he could even see them. Maybe cyborgs had better vision? In any case, there were lone centaurs and super-mutants wielding pieces of wood, and were easily taken out as they went along. They stopped for awhile where the cavern met the vault to rest a moment and to blow out the lantern.

They crept through, the vault was maze-like, and it didn't help that there was debris and the only source of light was from the back-up generator. It doused each room in red, leaving the corners dark enough that his mind filled in the blank of what sort of monster could be hiding for them while shrouded. Radroaches went about their business, ignoring them in favor of looking for food and avoiding the other, scarier, inhabitants of the vault.

When they first came upon enemies in the vault, it was two super-mutants having a conversation at the top of a set of stairs. He threw a grenade underhanded, it bounced off the ceiling above the super-mutants and exploded in their faces. Cross rounded the corner, gun fixated at the top of the staircase. There was still sound coming from the two super-mutants, and they made their way up. Two bullets silenced them.

From there it only got worse, there were lone super-mutants and groups of two and three, and most of them had guns instead of boards or bats or whatever other melee weapons they cobbled together. The firefights seemed to drag on forever, not letting up as they made their way through the near identical vault rooms to where they should be going. It was hard to tell how far into the vault they were, and how much farther they had to still go to find the G.E.C.K.

Each fight blurred together, he wasn't even sure where one fight ended and the other began. At one point, his brain had put him on auto-pilot, firing upon the enemy with about as much enthusiasm and attention as he usually gave when he went about making breakfast.

After clearing a hallway and about to head further into the vault, he jumped nearly out of his own skin when a static voice came through and reached them.

“You... over there? Can you... can you hear me?” The voice was obviously from a super-mutant, it had that sort of quality to it that only super-mutants had, but it was far more intelligent sounding than the normal of its' kind, “Come speak to me... I'm in the room to your left. Use the intercom next to the window.”

Jamie looked down the hallway to his left, Cross and Sarah staring as well, and just as they were told, there was a huge super-mutant with his face pressed up to the glass and struggling to see them down the hallway. It actually looked pretty silly, considering that the thing that had its' face pressed up against the glass and speaking to them was part of the race that was widely feared.

He crept forward, towards the window and the intercom, a heavy hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“Don't,” Cross said.

He looked back to where the super-mutant was standing, waiting to see if they would talk to him or leave him behind, “I don't think he can get out of there.”

“We should continue on,” Sarah said from behind Cross.

“Just... a little break, all right? I'll take care of this.”

Cross hesitated, gave him a look that he knew was that she thought this was a bad idea, and that she wouldn't help him out when he inevitably got in trouble. The hand slid from his shoulder, and they stayed behind to scope out the next hallway as he made his way to the intercom.

Before he could even press the button on the intercom, the super-mutant excitedly talked to him, “Either you are quite real, or I am going quite mad. Could you actually be a pure human?”

Super-mutants didn't talk like that, so he was quite interested, “Yeah... James Jr, at your service. Call me Jamie.”

“Jamie then... My name is Fawkes.”

“Like, the prewar animal?”

“...No.”

“Oh, okay.”

“If I may ask... Jamie... Could you be here for the G.E.C.K?”

Fawkes, the friendly super-mutant, was surprising him more and more at every turn, “How'd you know that?”

“There isn't much in this vault that three pure humans would be interested in, besides the G.E.C.K. I know what it is, I knw where it is, and best of all, I know how you can get your hands on it.”

“Isn't it just down a few more hallways? I'm sure we can find it by ourselves.”

“If you want to look greener than I, then I will happily let you go. The chamber in which the G.E.C.K resides is flooded with radiation... Release me from this makeshift prison and I will personally take you to the G.E.C.K and retrieve it for you.”

He looked back down the hallway to where Cross and Sarah were waiting for him, then turned back to Fawkes, awaiting his answer, “All right... how do I get you out of this?”

 

Jamie stood where Fawkes had told him, trying to figure out the console in front of him while standing in a pool of black super-mutant blood, and Sarah absolutely freaking out.

“You can't _honestly_ think that this is a good idea,” She complained at him, then turned to Cross, “He's being crazy, right?”

“Do you have any ideas on how to get the G.E.C.K then?” He replied, “If he's right, and I think he is, then there's too much radiation for any of us to handle.”

“He's a _super-mutant_! You can't be sure he was telling the truth!”

“When have you met a super-mutant that could actually intelligently interact with a human?”

Sarah shrugged, “None, and that's the point! Super-mutants are _evil_!”

“No, the point is, is that he is _intelligent_. Other super-mutants can barely grasp the concept of making fire, which is why when you see a group of them, they usually have their fire pits burning _all_ the time. He knows about the G.E.C.K, probably knows more about it than we do.”

“He's a super-mutant!” Sarah cried back, turning to Cross again, “This is a bad idea, right?”

Cross was silent for a moment, “You're _sure_ that he was intelligent?”

“Very.”

“Well... okay.”

“Cross! You can't seriously be okay with this!”

“If the super-mutant is right, then he'll get the G.E.C.K for us without any danger to us. If he's lying... well, we'll kill him.”

“ _What_?”

“A intelligent super-mutant... I'm curious to see just how intelligent he is. If he's on our side... it'll be a great benefit to us.”

“But...”

Cross gave her a look, and Sarahs' complaint died down. He figured out the fire controls and flipped the switch, behind them was the sound of the doors opening up simultaneously.

“Guns at the ready,” Cross gave the command, and they plunged back into the hallway, wasting no time in firing upon whatever horrors came through the doors. Things that were even more twisted than centaurs and super-mutants came at them with bestial ferocity. His mind blocked them just as soon as he had seen them, too crazy for his mind to even process.

When they'd gotten back down the hallway, to where Fawkes had been fighting towards them, the intelligent super-mutant loudly thanked them and proclaimed his joy at being set free. Then began to trudge away, taking them in the direction towards the G.E.C.K.

They kept up their guard as they were being led, and continued to fight their way through the enemies, though this time Jamie had to be mindful not to accidentally shoot Fawkes. He was easily identifiable with his ripped vault suit, but Jamie had to focus so that he didn't zone out like he had been before.

Through the rooms and hallways they went, killing other super-mutants, and they'd only had to go through a few before they'd come to a door where Fawkes had told them to stay behind. He opened the door, and Jamie could feel the pin-pricks of radiation crawl over his skin in the short time before the door was closed again.

They stood, and they waited.

“I still don't think that this was a good idea,” Sarah said, almost under her breath.

A few minutes later, the door opened back up, and Fawkes came back through. He handed Jamie a suitcase, “Here's the G.E.C.K, our bargain is complete. This is where we part company, maybe we'll meet again.”

“Thank you, Fawkes.”

The super-mutant gave them a curt nod, and went along his way, and they went theirs, back through the maze of rooms and hallways.

“That was easy, wasn't it?”

“Don't jinx us.”

“We _have_ the G.E.C.K, how could I possibly jinx us?”

“By _jinxing_ us, so stop it.”

“Why would-”

“Sh-”

He heard the buzzing, and pushed Sarah through the nearest door and into Cross' back. They stumbled over each other and fell to the ground. He made to throw the G.E.C.K with them when the flash of light burned into his eyes.

Momentarily blinded, he dropped the case as the blast weakened him. A second before his limbs became deadened and he blacked out, he reached for his gun and shot the panel next to the doorway that he'd just pushed Sarah through. The last thing he remembered was an Enclave soldier crossing the room to him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally two chapters, but I wasn't happy with how short both of them were separately.


	30. Lamplight to Everglow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Enclave chase Sarah and the Little Lamplighters away from Vault 87 and Little Lamplight.

Sarah Lyons

_-November 14th, 2277-_

 

Sarah could hear what was going on, but there was no way for her to get back through the door that Jamie had closed off. The door was completely non-functional, and she couldn't even guess just how many of the Enclaves' soldiers were behind it.

Worst of all, they now had the G.E.C.K.

Her job now would be to return to her father and report what had happened, then they could come up with a plan.

A plan of what? Rescue? Attack? They didn't even know where the Enclave were based from. Going and doing this would be better than standing there and hoping that she could somehow get through the pressure locked door to what could very probably be her death.

“Cross, what do we do?” She turned, but didn't see Cross.

She had thought that she'd seen Cross, the other Paladin had been in front of her when she'd been pushed by Jamie. She remembered falling to the ground with her just before the blast. Sarah took two steps forward when her foot collided with something on the ground, and she looked.

Cross was there, unmoving.

Her heart leapt up into her throat as she scrambled down to her hands and knees to flip Cross over onto her back. She was still breathing, but she was utterly non-responsive. She wasn't a medic... she had no idea what to do... or what could even be _wrong_.

The sounds beyond the door began again, banging against it, wires hissing. The Enclave were trying to get through the door, and if they did she would be overrun, but she couldn't drag Cross all the way back to Little Lamplight, and she couldn't leave the children without warning of upcoming danger. If the Enclave soldiers went this way, they'd eventually find them all. And if they didn't kill the Lamplighters, then they'd be taken and who knew what would happen to them.

Needing to act fast, she grabbed Cross and began to drag her to the nearest room. A supply closet, it was the best choice for the time being. She placed Cross in the corner as gently as she could, and toppled a shelf and it's contents over beside her, just before the door.

“Sorry Cross,” She said, just before she closed the door and left.

Running through Vault Eighty-Seven was weird, because she knew that they were coming even if she couldn't hear them. The way back was marked with the bodies of the dead, so it was easy to determine the route they'd taken the first time through.

She wished she had her power armor.

Sarah came back to the door that led into Little Lamplight, and began to pound on it. The door was open, and Joseph looked through to her, having expected their return through Murder Pass. There was just her though.

“Close the door,” She said to him breathlessly.

“What about the others?”

“Close the door, Joseph,” He did as she said, “I need to talk to MacCready, it's urgent.”

Joseph nodded, and led her through, the children they ran into followed them through to the front gate where Mayor MacCready was keeping watch. He saw her and the impromptu gathering with narrowed eyes and a frown covering his face.

“What is it?”

“You all should leave,” She said, raising her voice over the crowd of children, “We all need to leave right now.”

A murmur went through the crowd, MacCready spoke up, “And why's that, Mungo? The monsters in Murder Pass are all behind the door. They have been for generations.”

“It's not _about_ the monsters in Murder Pass. The Enclave have come, they took Jamie and I had to leave Cross behind, but they're coming this way.”

“Who're the Enclave?” Someone asked from behind her, similar questions rose up after the first.

“You mean like that boring _radio station_?”

“Yeah,” She replied, “Except they all have _guns_ , and we don't know what they want. They blew up a town called Megaton, just for not giving them free food.”

Mayor MacCready stared her down, she kept the gaze, he couldn't be scarier than Cross ever was when she found a job that had been completed in an unsatisfactory way. He nodded, then turned to the rest of the Lamplighters. She hoped that he'd make the connection of the recent blast off in the distance with what she was telling him.

“Scav team, up front and center. The rest of you, grab your guns and your food and whatever else you want to take. Pack light. You have two minutes.”

The children scrambled, leaving the gate behind and going back to wherever they lived and worked, gathering what needed to be brought. The scavenger team, being Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny, came to stand in front of their Mayor.

“Where's a safe place close-by?” He asked.

“Campground,” Squirrel replied, “Fifteen minutes north. We cleared it a little over a week ago, and whatever else should be hibernating.”

“Do you think that's far enough away until they leave?”

The three scavengers shrugged.

Mayor MacCready sighed and nodded, “Fine. You have a minute and a half,” The three of them took off running further into the caverns, and MacCready turned back to her, “Do you have any ideas, Mungo?”

“I know a few safe places, but they're a distance away. Arefu's probably the closest, if I remember the map right,” She mumbled to herself, “Where do you all go when you're... well... not kids anymore?”

“When we become Mungos, like you?” He shrugged, “We kick 'em out and send 'em to Big Town.”

“I know where Big Town is.”

“But we're not Mungos...”

“Why does that matter?”

“Because we're not Mungos. Mungos go to Big Town.”

“And what if it's not safe here anymore? If the Enclave follow us to the campground? What then?”

Mayor MacCready shrugged, “We'll figure it out ourselves.”

She shook her head, “You've been good as far as taking care of yourselves... sort of...”

“Sort of?” He cried out, entirely offended.

“You guys eat _cave moss_ ,” Sarah pointed out. There was another place she knew of, but she worried about taking them there, just because of how many people were already grouped together there, “There is one other place... further than Big Town... and you'd have _real_ food. And you know, when your scav team goes out, if they take a 'Mungo' with them, anyone trying to kidnap you or eat you would try to go through the 'Mungo' first.”

MacCready frowned at her, “We'll get to the campground, see what our situation is... _then_ we'll talk.”

The kids all came back to the front gate, packed up tightly, a few of the dogs were following. Mayor MacCready gave a sharp whistle, and the rest of the dogs came running up front.

“Scav team, open the gate!” MacCready called as he hopped down off of the make-shift ramparts with his rifle. The gate was opened, and they filed through quickly, the scavenger team leading the pack with MacCready, and she took up the rear to watch behind them in case the Enclave were to catch them from behind. She hoped that they were quick enough to get out, but then again, the snow had built up, and their tracks would easily trace them wherever they went.

 

They stepped up through the newly snow-laden plains and into a hilly forest of blackened bare trees. It gave them some cover, which put more and more of them at ease, as they had heard the shoutings and orderings of soldiers behind them as they had left. There was a chance that they were still being followed, but they'd deal with that if when they needed to.

Atop a hill there was a small clearing where there were a circle of old pre-war trailers, she only sort of knew what they were used for, but she'd hardly come across any in her life. There were no windows or doors or wheels left on any of them from pre-war, but there were sheets and blankets that had been put over the holes, as well as old mattresses inside, and a fire pit made of cinder-blocks within the circle that the old trailers made.

“How did you know of this place?”

“It was cleared out of some raiders awhile back,” Knock Knock said to her, “When Joseph was the youngest kid in Little Lamplight.”

“Scav team keeps them from moving back in,” Sammy said, matter-of-factly, “We use it as a place to go to if we think that we're being followed, so we don't lead bad mungos back to Little Lamplight.”

“Zip,” Mayor MacCready called out, “Get up top with a pair of binoculars, tell me what'cha see.”

Zip, the little Nuka hound, was boosted up to the top of one of the trailers by Joseph and Eclair, and was tossed a pair of binoculars. In a quick little voice, he called down to MacCready and told him what was going on with whatever light was remaining of the day.

“Looks like they're guardin' the entrance, looks bad, it looks like they know we came this way...”

“Does it look like they're following?” MacCready called up to Zip.

“No!”

MacCready looked back down the way they had come, as though he'd be able to see them all the way back at the entrance to Little Lamplight. He turned to the rest of the Lamplighters and began to shout orders to them all, calling for a fire to be lit and dinner to be passed around now, in case they had to leave in a hurry again. Just as he was telling Lucy, their medic, to find a place for Bumble to sleep, they heard a noise coming from the direction of Little Lamplight.

She and the children all gathered around the trailer that Zip was stationed on, awaiting for him to tell what was going on. They didn't have to wait long, Zip had barely gone through a sentence when they all saw a huge black shape emerge from the foggy clouds above.

It was a vertibird, going straight North. It could be likely that the Enclave were heading back out to their base, and if that were the case, she knew the direction to where. If Jamie were still alive, he'd be on it.

“There's still those people out front of the caverns!” Zip called to MacCready.

“They're holding our place?” He asked.

“Looks like it!”

Sarah studied the young Mayors' face as he thought about the situation, going from anger to thoughtful to agitated. He drew his coat up closer to himself as he looked around the campground scathingly.

“We can't stay here, not more than a night.”

“I'd say not even for a night,” She replied, “It'll be too cold, come morning.”

“Do you think they'll stay in Lamplight that long?”

She shrugged, “They could try to occupy it all winter.”

“Why's that?”

Sarah thought for a little while, “They could want it as an outpost, or they could be interested in the vault. It could have research or equipment that they want. Unless you having something of value in that cavern of yours.”

He narrowed his eyes, “So, what would you have us do?”

“Closest settlement to here is Arefu, but I've never been, so I can't vouch for if it's a good place or not. After that is Big Town...”

“Only mungos go there,” MacCready insisted.

“It's not that bad,” She tried again, “I mean, there's actual houses, and the nearby super-mutant threat has been nearly wiped out.”

“Super-mutants? What do you mean? Like the monsters in Murder Pass?”

“Those are what the monsters in Murder Pass were,” She replied, “Super-mutants. They eat humans, but the threat was taken care of.”

“By who?” MacCready demanded, “Probably not those mungos in Big Town.”

Sarah sighed, “No... that would be the _mungos_ of Minefield.”

“Is that the _other_ place you mentioned earlier?” His eyes narrowed, “What's so great about it?”

She shrugged, “Real food, lots of protection. I think your scav team could be a large benefit to them,” She thought of something she could use at just that moment, “And, there's probably more places to loot closeby. There can't be many places around Little Lamplight left that scav teams haven't cleared out already in the past two hundred years.”

MacCready frowned, “We don't need no stinkin' mungos to protect us. Lamplighters protect themselves, and we feed ourselves too. Scav Team!”

The team that he called for scrambled forward to their Mayor, he looked them over with a scathing eye, “We need a place to go for the Winter. The enemy might be occupying Little Lamplight for some time, so we'll gather our forces, train, and hit them when Spring comes around, and take back our Caverns. Any ideas?”

“There's an old Car Fort up North, by the river,” Squirrel suggested.

“There's some old pre-war car station just a little North of here,” Sammy suggested.

“There's a ' _Bed and Breakfast_ ' out East, near Big-Town,” Penny suggested.

MacCready took all of them into consideration for a long moment, “Which one would be the easiest to defend?”

The three of them shrugged. MacCready sighed.

“All right, but big mungo Sarah says that there's some place named _Minefield_ where we could go. She says the mungos have food, but we've never _lived_ with mungos before,” He told them, and upon his last statement, he gave her a look from the corner of his eyes.

Penny got excited though, “That's the place that took out the _slavers!_ ”

“With the biggest mungo ghoul I've ever _seen!_ ” Sammy added.

Then Squirrel said, “From my observations at the time, I can only assume that two girls were the leaders of them. They're mungos, but they're only just mungos. They can't be more than a few years older than Joseph is.”

“Two _girls?_ ” MacCready stuck his tongue out, “Please tell me they aren't like _Princess_.”

“One was real good with a sniper, we watched the whole fight. She could shoot from behind anyone and not hit them a single time, but she hit every slaver in front of them.”

“You can't be serious,” MacCready frowned, “No one is that good with a gun.”

“ _She_ was,” Sammy replied.

“The other one liked to kick downed slavers in the 'bags.” Penny giggled.

This wasn't what MacCready wanted, it seemed, “So where is it that we should go, do you think, Squirrel?”

Squirrel was probably the smartest one out of all of them, if anyone knew which place would be the best defensible position, he would know.

Squirrel shrugged, “I'd say Minefield. They got food, and maybe if we tell 'em what's happened, they'll fight for us.”

“Lamplighters take care of themselves,” MacCready said, “We don't need no stinkin' mungos to fight our fights for us.”

Squirrel shrugged again, “I'm just sayin' that maybe they'll do it for us, and we wouldn't have to train everyone else to take it back in the Spring. If we're real lucky, they'll do it for us the next clear weather day we have.”

MacCready seemed to think it over for awhile, then nodded once, “Get everyone's opinion. As long as more'n half of 'em are all right with bunking up with mungos, then we'll head out there... I _guess_.”

The scavenger team split up and went through the campground, finding where everyone was and explaining what was happening and what was going to happen. The only major opposition was Princess, who came to MacCready loudly demanding to have her way. Sarah had gone away from them as soon as Princess began screaming and bawling at MacCready, and she looked back through the trees. It was nearly dark, and they'd have to wait until morning before they should begin their travels. Although, they'd have an easier time under the cover of darkness.

A cold wind passed through her when there was none. Jamie and the G.E.C.K had been captured by the Enclave, and she'd left Cross back in that vault. Cross wouldn't survive in a closet all winter, and Jamie might have already been dead.

 


	31. Cut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Butch feels a little down, but then gets asked to be a barber again.

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-November 15th, 2277-_

 

To her, her brother, and Ella, the snow was an oddity, but to the others, it was something that just happened and something to be avoided. To the slaves that had been released from their captors, they were just happy to have a sheltered place to stay, warm clothes on their backs, and regular meals.

Breadbox was still a little out of it, and Doc Churchs' diagnosis had been grim. Breadbox had a forgetful disorder that sometimes affected those of old age, in the Vault (and pre-war) they had called in Alzheimer's. He wouldn't have been so badly off, except that the shock of being released from slavery had placed a great deal of stress on his mind. Breadbox had been a slave for most of his life, so now that he wasn't, it was too much for him to accept and had furthered the disorder.

It wasn't likely that Breadbox would live for much longer; naturally, at least. A few more years, if he was lucky.

Morning came with quickness that she didn't want. Cassidy forced herself out of bed, Ella was still asleep and the blankets were still very warm, but she pushed forward. Charon was awake and sitting in his chair, he barely moved when she walked past. She looked into the room at the end of the hallway, Walter and Harden were still asleep, but Butch was nowhere to be seen.

She came downstairs, counting off everyone who slept down in the living room from over the banister, finding they were all where they were supposed to be. There wasn't much need to get up early, unless you were cooking for everyone in the 'settlement'.

In the kitchen revealed Watson, who had just woken up from their sleep in front of the fridge. Dogmeat was laying across their lap lazily.

“What are you doing?”

Watson shrugged, “Making sure nobody tries to steal food.”

She thought about it for a moment or two, then agreed with the reasoning. They only had so much food to go around, and they didn't know much about the newcomers, “Have you seen Butch?”

“He went out the window.”

“Thanks,” Cassidy sighed, and she went to the window and opened it up. She looked right, then she looked left, and found Butch leaning against the house, cigarette in his mouth, “Hey, fuck-face. Gimme one.”

He nearly jumped out of his skin, but after recovering he fished out the pack of cigarettes while he walked over to her. He handed one over, and offered a light from a matchbook that he'd found somewhere. He leaned back up against the house to continue to smoke, while she stayed where she was, half through the window.

“So, what'cha doin' out here so early?” She asked, “You're never up this early.”

He shrugged, “I dunno.”

She gave him a hard look, but he wasn't looking at her, just staring ahead at the stone wall of the cliff-side.

“What's the matter with you?”

He sighed, grunted, then sighed again, “Just feels like you don't need me here.”

“What do you mean, feels like we don't need you here? You do plenty.”

“Like what?”

“The turret.”

“We did that together, and you prolly could've done that yourself.”

“The traps.”

He shrugged, “Haven't caught anything in them, have we?”

She sighed, “I dunno. I'm not here to hold your hand, why don't you figure it out for yourself?”

He glared at her, and she threw away the cigarette, retreating back through the window and going about making breakfast. It wasn't her problem, she had seventeen people and a dog to feed.

 

_Butch DeLoria_

_-November 15th, 2277-_

 

He grumbled to himself and finished his cigarette, flicking it in the general direction that Cassidy had thrown hers away. He didn't feel like returning inside, he just felt like wandering, so he did.

It's not like there was anyone around who would get the jump on him. It was cold and there was snow on the ground, and if anyone were to attack him in the emptiness of Minefield, Stockholm was always on watch on the roof. He'd probably already spotted him from his perch, which he was adding onto daily.

Stockholms' snipers nest now had a patched up leather tarp as a roof, sloping up from the houses' roof so that he could lay flat with his rifle and so that most rain or snow wouldn't make it into the attic.

He walked up to the dilapidated building at the end of the street, he only assumed that his sister and Ella had already gone through it before they'd come out here, since they'd never gone near it since then.

He climbed up the steps that led to the upper levels, and made his way to the highest vantage point possible, which he had to scale a wall and clear the ledge of snow, looking down on the snowy drifts below him. Nothing moved for miles around, nothing at all. There was just white, with an occasional brown from the exposed side of ditches or dark gray from faraway buildings.

Butch could clearly pick out the power station they'd ransacked, along with the farmhouse off in the distance that Ella had spotted. In the South he could see the junkyard they'd passed on their way there, but in any other direction, he couldn't see anything other than white landscape and gray skies.

What could be there to do? Not much, and with the snow on the ground like this, there wasn't many options in the first place.

Either way, the cold was starting to get to him, so he climbed down from his perch and trekked back to the kitchen window, slipping inside to find that Ella and Charon were finishing their meal and Watson was already done and was being given a plate of food to pass onto Stockholm before the sniper would take his rest for a short time. Everyone else was eating together in the living room.

He got the last of the food, his sister had already eaten, but when she came over with breakfast, she came with a little bit more cheer than when they'd parted earlier.

“I was thinking about what you said, and talked to Doc Church. He and I thought that maybe Breadbox could use a haircut, and have his beard trimmed down.”

He perked up instantly, “I can do that. Barber'n's easy.”

Butch ate at the breakfast quickly, finding it easy to do so, and as soon as he'd finished, went to go about the work that was asked of him. Doc Church, who'd taken the time to help Breadbox eat, would lend him some scissors, and though they weren't generally for hair-cutting, they were good enough for the task.

Breadbox sat still enough for him to clip his beard down to a much more manageable length, and set down the scissors to grab his comb to make sure he hadn't missed anything. One hand on his lapel and one hand sticking into his jacket to fish out the item, time seemed to move in slow motion as Breadbox reached forward for the scissors, then stabbed him.

 

 

_Ella Rhodes_

_-November 15th, 2277-_

 

The first sound that reached her was a cry out of surprise that sounded like Butch. She'd been helping Cassidy clean the dishes, they had few to spare, so they needed to be cleaned well before they could start even thinking of what to have for lunch.

After the cry, there was a mix of other yelling and screaming. Maggie came into the kitchen crying, and hid herself behind the two of them. Charon was tensed up in the corner, in the process of crossing the room and to the doorway, hand resting on his shotgun.

She rushed after him, placing a hand over his. There were grunts of a struggle and Butch came through the doorway, clutching his stomach, blood flowing over his hands and staining his jeans. Without a word, she and Cassidy hauled him over to sit down as the sounds of fighting in the living room died down.

“Doc!” She called as she drew away from Butch at the table and past Charon. She stepped into the living room, “We need a stimpak!”

In the living room, several of the furniture were overturned, and many of those who'd been in the room were now holding Breadbox down. Doc Church rose above the chaos, face flushed and hair messed up. He stepped over limbs and disappeared into what was now their tiny medical facility, and returned with a stimpak. He handed it off to her, and went about trying to disentangle everyone who was strewn on the floor.

“What should we do with Breadbox?” Charon asked her as she passed him again in the opposite direction.

“Bind him up, but don't hurt him,” She said, flustered and rushed back into the kitchen. Charon went to do that task that she'd unintentionally had given him.

“ _Jesus, fuck,_ ” Butch groaned as she'd come back in. Maggie was in the other chair, facing away from the blood coming from Butch, sniffling every so often.

Cassidy laughed, “Jesus won't save you, but Ella might, if you're real nice to her.”

“Take off your jacket,” She commanded, he could barely lift his hands away from his stomach in pain. She gave a look to Cassidy and they pulled his arms away and unzipped his jacket, revealing his dirty t-shirt underneath, already covered in a good amount of blood.

She lifted his shirt away from the wound, it was only moderately deep, but there was a lot of blood and she feared that the whatever had been used to stab him had punctured one of his organs. She'd have to get the needle into him further than if it were just a surface wound, or if an organ hadn't been hit, so that his insides would heal first. She wouldn't want him to be bleeding internally if the stim didn't heal enough.

Butch groaned again as she tried to find the best possible way further into the wound by pulling it open as gently as she could, a new rush of blood came out of him and onto her hands. She lined the needle up with the trajectory of the wound and slid the needle in, going as far as she could into the wound.

Butch grit his teeth, but took it well and she was able to administer it without him moving much.

“You should rest until the wound closes,” She sighed, when the entire stimpak was given to him, “Either I or Doc will check out the wound a little later.”

“Yeah, sure,” Butch sighed too, probably glad that it was done with, stiffly taking off his jacket to save it from his own blood as the bleeding began to slowly stop, “Just... gimme a cigarette... I'd like a minute alone..”

Cassidy fumbled and tossed him a pack. The two of them left him alone, after she had washed her hands, and went to go see the progression in what was happening in the living room, and to see if anyone else had gotten hurt. Charon was helping Doc Church to put Breadbox back into a seat, his hands were now bound at the wrist. Gob, Walter, Bleak, and Rory were going about righting all of the furniture. Stockholm had come down, along with Watson, to see what all the noise was about. Harden was trying to help, but mostly just standing around, Dogmeat standing just a bit behind him. Moira and Jeanette were sitting together in a corner away from all the busy-ness, and Bronson was sitting by himself, clearly unhappy that he wasn't currently getting drunk.

Doc Church spotted her first, “He's calmed down... It was just so sudden, I think his mental capacity is much worse than I had originally thought. Is Butch all right?”

“He's healing,” She came up to stand between the doctor and Charon, “Is Breadbox all right?”

“I think,” Doc replied, “If anything he'll be a bit bruised.”

“What do we do with him?” Harden asked, looking up at her and Cassidy.

She thought it over, a horrifying realization coming to her that if Breadbox were in any other town or city, that he'd likely be put to death. That was the way of the wasteland, and he would be too dangerous.

An idea popped up in her head though, something she'd seen in the old medical supply room in the vault.

“We can't _kill_ him,” Cassidy said, “It's not his fault he's like this.”

“Then what would you have us do?” Bronson said sourly from his corner.

“Straight-jacket,” She replied, turning to Cassidy, “You could probably make one... right?”

“What?” Was what came back, “What's a straight-jacket?”

“We had one in the vaults' medical supply. They used to put it on people in mental institutions back before the war so they couldn't hurt themselves or others. In the vault it was only ever used a couple of times, about a hundred years ago.”

“How'd you know all that?”

She shrugged, “I used to read old medical terminal entries when I was sick or grounded.”

“So... what does it look like? How would we make one?”

“It's...” She thought back to how it looked in the supply room in the vault, when she'd found it, “It looks like a jacket, but with really long sleeves, and belts on the sleeves.”

“So... the belts connect to each other?”

“I think so...”

Charon looked back at her and frowned, then he said simply, “The belts would attach to the back of the jacket.”

“Oh.”

Cassidy hummed, “All right... anything else?”

Charon shook his head.

“Well... we don't have any extra clothing, not even jackets,” Cassidy sighed, “If we did, I could probably attach some pant legs to the sleeves, but then we'd have to have an extra pair of pants, and two belts to make it.”

“But it's not like there's anyplace nearby we can look for 'em...”

“There's the farmhouse,” Ella replied, “We haven't searched there.”

“Is there really any likelihood of a spare jacket and pants being there?”

She shrugged, “We don't know until we look.”

“I think there's too much snow on the ground to go out looking...”

“We can't just leave him tied up all the time, he still might be able to hurt someone... including himself.”

“Then someone's going to have to give up some clothes...”

There was a knock on the door. Every eye in the room turned towards it, then to Stockholm who was halfway down the stairs. Stockholm shrugged.

“I swear...” She sighed. Charon went to the dresser that was standing in front of the door, moving it away and opening the door.

She was entirely expecting Jamie to come back through, but there in the snow was Sarah Lyons, thirteen children, and six dogs.

“Sorry.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Almost Christmas!


	32. Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie wakes up in the Enclave base, the Little Lamplighters and Sarah make it to Minefield, and Cross wakes up to an unusual situation.

_James Rhodes, Jr._

_-November 15th, 2277-_

 

He awoke slowly and blearily, but he woke up, which wasn't what he'd been expecting, if he was honest with himself. The first thing he was aware of was being dragged by Enclave soldiers down a series of hallways, each one looking just the same as the last one.

He was mostly awake by the time they'd apparently gotten to where they were going, but he didn't have any weapons on him. He struggled against the soldiers, but they were in power armor, and he was in his simple clothes that he wore beneath his well-used leather armor, they were able to overpower him easily.

They stripped him of his remaining clothes, he stood naked between the two as they waiting for the door to open. Then he was unceremoniously pushed into the room, only about the size of a closet, and the door shut behind him.

He tried to see what was in the room, but it was dimly lit, and he couldn't tell what it was used for. It wasn't a normal closet though, that was for sure.

He was assaulted with an answer, and freezing cold water that made him scream out in suddenness. He first tried to push his way back through the door, yelling all kinds of obscenities through it, then tried to find the best place to stand where he wouldn't have to deal with as much of the cold water as he possibly could.

It was so cold though, and his legs gave out from under him. And then two others came in, clad in some type of radiation suits he'd never seen before, and in their hands were soaps and scrub brushes.

“ _Fuck you_ ,” He spat, as venomously as he could at them.

They ignored him, and silently went about their job. They grabbed him, and scrubbed him down with a rough thoroughness. He was sure that they even got the places that had never been scrubbed in his entire life. They man-handled him just as easily as the two in the power armor had, but they had the advantage of him being frozen near solid, so he couldn't fight them back as much as he wished to.

When he was done and they hosed him down, he was dragged out of the showers and taken back down the hallways. Jamie couldn't even tell if they were the same hallways though, so he couldn't possibly know which direction they were taking him.

He was shoved into another room, and locked inside, but this time there were no cruel showers to great him. Just a plain cot, with white medical scrubs folded neatly on top. He was still freezing and completely wet, so he went over immediately to them, and put them on. It wasn't the right thing to do, he realized just after he'd put them on, because now the clothes were wet, and he was still cold.

Jamie took the blanket, which was also white, off of the bed and wrapped himself up in it, then looked around the room, wondering just what they wanted with him.

There was the cot in the corner, along the same wall on the other side of the room there was a toilet and a sink next to it with some new-looking soap. Between the sink and the toilet was a drain, and on the ceiling was a ventilation grate.

Across from the bed and bathroom amenities was a large glass wall, with some sort of slot area for some unknown reason. Just before it, in his side of the room, was a small table and a chair. Jamie went immediately to the glass and splayed his hand against it. It was too thick to be able to bash through it.

A man came in, a man he recognized. Next to him was an assistant, carrying a tray of food.

“The President apologizes for the coldness of the shower, our water heater is being repaired as we speak.”

“The _President_?”

“President Eden, of course,” The man said simply.

“He's no President of mine,” Jamie snapped back.

“I hope you're not swearing your allegiance with China, or our other communist enemies.”

“Fuck you.”

Without his face changing in any way, the man casually put his hand under the tray that the assistant was holding, pushing it up slightly and sending it falling over to the floor. The food scattered at his feet.

“Good night, Mr Rhodes.”

He left the room, followed by the young woman. The lights went out, and he was left entirely in the dark.

Jamie shuffled back to the cot, and laid down. There wasn't anything else he could do.

 

 

_Charon_

_-November 15th, 2277-_

 

The children filed in, tracking snow and mud as they went, and the looks that went between Ella and Sarah were looks of pity, sorrow, surprise, and regret. A few of the kids took it upon themselves to handle the dogs that had come with them, keeping them from fighting or play with Dogmeat and generally trying to get them to behave around the new strangers. Butch had come to the doorway of the kitchen, wondering just what was going on, despite the fact that he should have been sitting and waiting for his wound to heal.

The oldest of the kids was maybe a year younger than Watson, and the youngest couldn't have been older than five or six, the girl was intently sucking her thumb and holding the hand of an older girl.

They all gathered around one boy, who he suspected to be their leader, as he conversed with one of the kids he recognized from Paradise Falls. The other kid pointed out Ella and Cassidy, the two girls converged on each other to perhaps deliberate themselves.

Then the kid in the middle of all the other kids spoke up.

“I'm Mayor MacCready, of Little Lamplight!” He stuck out his hand to Cassidy, then to Ella. They shook his hand with surprising composure, and introduced themselves.

“Sarah Lyons has said that this was a safe place to stay for the Winter,” Mayor MacCready said, “There are Enclave soldiers currently occupying out rightful township, and we need time and a place to stay until we can muster our strength and forces to take Little Lamplight back.”

Cassidy and Ella looked between themselves, then turned away from the pint-sized Mayor to whisper at each other. He was at least close enough to hear the entire thing.

“He said Enclave? Like who blew up Megaton? Right?”

“Yeah. We can't just turn them away... but I don't think we have enough food to last all Winter. And where would they stay?”

“We did bring in all those mattresses.”

The unused mattresses, which there were few of, had been stacked up and left in the little mock foyer of the house until they needed them. No one thought they would've needed them this quickly though, including himself.

“But where would we put them?”

Ella sighed, “Uh... the master bedroom?”

“ _We_ sleep there.”

“We could sleep in the attic or down here until we figure it out.”

“And give them the entire room?”

“There's _thirteen_ of them, Cass. And the dogs too.”

“Don't call me Cass when you just want to get me to agree. Would they even all fit in there?”

Ella shrugged, “We could see.”

They turned back around, “We... uh... welcome you, to Minefield. We don't have much room, but we'll do what we can.”

“We don't have much food for all of us... but we'll try to make do.”

“That won't be necessary,” Mayor MacCready called out, “Scav team!”

The three children that had been rescued from Paradise Falls came up to attention at the call of their Mayor.

“Go and scout out places nearby. See if you can find anything.”

The three children saluted Mayor MacCready, and they left, back through the door, and each of them took a dog. Since they hadn't save any dogs while in Paradise Falls, nor had he seen any dog bones in the area, he assumed that they were guard dogs and were only being taken because there was more than enough fire-power here to keep anyone else at bay.

“W-wait... by themselves?”

“So?” Mayor MacCready replied.

Ella was astounded into silence by the reply. Cassidy rushed to the door and called after them, and asked for the specific supplies that she needed to make the straight-jacket from scratch. Then she came back and returned to Ellas' side.

“Don't you think it's dangerous to be going out in weather like this?”

Mayor MacCready shrugged, “If we must, we must. If we were back in Little Lamplight, then they'd have to go out anyways, since we didn't have any food. Now... where will we be staying?”

Ella and Cassidy pointed upstairs, leading the rest of the children up in what looked like a daze. Stockholm and Watson returned back up, probably going back to the attic, and he went to the front room, and grabbed a mattress. They'd have to haul them up anyways, and it was better to get it over with sooner, rather than later.

He followed after the children, and they were shown into the room. Ella began to clear out her desk, placing her books and supplies into one of her bags and setting it aside to take out later. Mayor MacCready began to give orders to everyone on the sleeping situation. He laid down the first mattress, and went back down for another one.

By the time he'd come back, the children had moved the large bed over to a corner, and it was apparently requisitioned for use for the younger children. Many of them were already sitting up on the bed, the others began to figure out where they were going to sleep, dividing up mattresses before he'd even brought all of them up.

Two more trips and the room was entirely filled up with mattresses, and with the guidance of their leader, there was more than enough space for all of the children between all the beds. One problem there was though, was they'd already taken Maggies' bed for their own use.

Cassidy and Ella talked quietly for awhile between themselves, then went about talking through everyone else in the house, but most importantly, Maggie. He took Ella's books and supplies, and the few extra clothes she had that hadn't been redistributed to either Jeanette or Moira, and brought them downstairs and to the kitchen, to wait for her to figure out what to do.

“She can take my bed,” Harden offered.

“Where would you sleep?”

He shrugged.

“You two are small enough to share one, aren't you?” Butch asked, still a little pale, but Doc Church had looked over the wound and proclaimed that Butch would be just fine in a couple of hours, as long as he didn't overexert himself. “Cass and I shared a bed 'til we were thirteen.”

Harden wrinkled up his nose, “Gross, we have to share a bed 'til we're thirteen?”

They laughed, “No. Just until we figure something else better.”

“I'm thinkin' if you're not too fat, then we could still share a bed, since there aren't any left, it seems.”

Butch humphed, “Fine.”

“What about Miss Ella?” Maggie asked.

“There's that sleeping bag,” Cassidy sighed, “It's the only thing left.”

“There's plenty of room in the attic, don't worry about it.”

 

Maggie and Harden were shooed out of the kitchen, leaving himself, Ella, Cassidy, Butch, and Sarah to talk. It was quiet for a long time, the silence was only interrupted by some sounds coming from the living room.

Ella went from patient to frustrated with Sarahs' silence very quickly, and he didn't blame her, considering how the situation looked. They'd just seen her brother two days ago. Was it three days ago?

“Where's Jamie?” She finally asked, her face drawn and tense.

Sarah didn't look up, “We were ambushed... by the Enclave.”

“ _Where's_ Jamie?”

“I don't know.”

Ella frowned, another bout of silence was once again interrupted by her, “What happened?”

“We'd just gotten the G.E.C.K,” She replied, “We were heading back through, and there was just this light. He pushed me through the nearest door, he must've shot the panel because I couldn't get it back open. It sounded like there were a lot of the Enclave on the other side, they were trying to get it open too. By the sound of it, there were a lot of them, and I knew I couldn't take then all on by myself, the Lamplighters would be overrun without any warning. So I went to them instead, and helped them leave.”

Ella was silent for a moment or two, “Then where's Cross?”

Sarah sighed, “I had to leave her behind. She was knocked unconscious or something from the blast. I couldn't carry her all the way back, so I hid her in a closet.”

There was silence for awhile.

“It was the only thing I could think of.”

 

Later, around lunchtime, the scavenger team of Little Lamplight returned. The other Lamplighters, including their Mayor, had come down to meet them, and they presented Cassidy with the things that she had asked for. Everyone in the house could smell the stench from the jacket and the pants that they'd brought, and he wondered if they had ripped them off of one of the dead raiders they'd thrown in the ditch.

Cassidy accepted them, then went to soak them in Abraxo.

They were also presented with one just smaller than medium-sized molerat, and two radroaches.

“How'd you find these?” They were asked.

The girl, who he was told was named Penny, smiled brightly, “Just gotta know what to look for when you're lookin' for nests!”

Cassidy looked deadpan at Ella, “Can we keep them?”

 

 

_Cross_

_-November 16th, 2277-_

 

She woke up. It shouldn't have surprised her, but it did, mostly because the last thing she remembered was going through Vault 87, and didn't remember returning to anywhere where they could've stopped to sleep. It was odd that she wouldn't have remembered, she remembered most things.

She sat up and looked around, but the area was too dark to see anything. Then she heard some noises some ways away from her, someone was walking around nearby, heavy steps if she were hearing right. Cross drew herself up against the wall, trying to grab for her energy pistol, but couldn't find it.

A light came around a corner, and shone down on her, blinding her momentarily, then the wielder of the lantern came up beside her and set it at her feet.

“You've been injured in some way,” A big voice said to her. She'd recognize the rolling rough voice of his race anywhere.

“Fawkes?”

“Yes, it is I.”

She looked around, finding that they were inside of some sort of cave or cavern, but there were no distinct structures or lamps that would have shown her it was Little Lamplight.

Which lead her to her next question; “Where are we?”

“From what I could gather, it was once a settlement named Rockopolis.”

“I remember it. It was destroyed by Paradise Falls, everyone who used to live here became slaves.”

“It will serve our purpose of shelter, for the time being. Until there can be a chance for travel.”

“Is it still snowing?”

“If that is what you call it, then yes. The great white blanket covers the land so the beasts can sleep. It is 'snowing' now, adding more to the blanket.”

She sighed, “So it's snowing,” She took another look around Rockopolis, “Where's Jamie and Sarah?”

“I don't know,” Fawkes replied, “You were all that I could find, after sneaking past some intimidating looking humans. I found you concealed in a closet.”

Cross hummed, “I don't remember what happened... Was there a blast... of some kind?”

“Yes. That was how I was alerted that there was trouble, so I went back to see if you and the others were all right, or if there had been some kind of cave-in. When I arrived to near the location I'd found you, there were men in powered suits.”

“The Enclave, it could only have been them. They must have found information on the location of the G.E.C.K just after we did. Must have... had an EMP grenade, it would have temporarily knocked out my cybernetics.”

“A good thing it didn't knock all of you out,” He said, then he handed her a box, “I found a cache of food, left by the earlier residents. Most of it is quite molded, but there was still this.”

The box was Dandy Boy Apples, not something she would've normally eaten, but she was hungry enough to rip it open greedily. She felt as though she hadn't eaten in weeks, like when she was on the road with the Brotherhood, and she and other troops would have to walk for days or weeks on end with little breaks or stops.

The apples would have to be enough, she wouldn't have quite been up to eating moldy food. Yet, at least.

She tried her hand at standing up, the cybernetics were up to full capacity already, and she was instantly steady. She looked further at what was around her and Fawkes, but other than rock and dirt, the only thing to be seen were the skeletal remains of the people of Rockopolis who didn't live long enough to become slaves.

“Where's the entrance to this place?”

Fawkes stood, taking the lantern up and leading her up a slope and to an opening. There was some shuffling, since the opening of the cavern was hidden, they had to go through a tight passageway to return to the outside.

Rockopolis was located in some valley, so it was difficult to determine exactly where they were or what dangers could possibly been around them. Then again, the only way she could tell where the entrance to Rockopolis was, was with the lantern that Fawkes had placed on the ground where they were to enter.

The 'great white blanket' on the ground was about a foot and a half deep, and the gray clouds above them weren't showing any signs of stopping their production of the soft flaky ice. She couldn't very much ask Fawkes if they were close to the Citadel, he probably didn't even know what that was, considering that he'd been locked in the cell in Vault 87 for most of his life, if she understood all that correctly.

But where was Jamie and Sarah? Were the safe? Had the Enclave gotten to them? It seemed possible to her that they had both of them and the G.E.C.K. And if the G.E.C.K had been taken, then the Enclave could use it to turn on the purifier, in that case, it would be too late.

She'd have to return to Elder Lyons... but Jamie and Sarah could be in an inordinate amount of danger.

“The Enclave...” She spoke, slowly and unassuredly, “Did they leave the Vault?”

“Some did, some went away,” Fawkes sighed, “To the North, I think.”

“To the North?”

“Yes.”

“Did they walk, or did they fly?”

“They flew.”

They could already be at their base then, it would be impossible to track them through the snow, if that were the case. She sighed to herself, it was an impossible task, but she wasn't going to leave Jamie and Sarah to their fates. She'd figure out where the Enclave were staying, even if it meant she'd have to execute an ambush and interrogation of a captured soldier.

“Are you up for a little bit of travel?”

Fawkes shrugged, “That is all right with me.”

 


	33. Poem for the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie spends another day in the clutches of the Enclave, Butch heads out with the Scav team, and an unexpected visitor shows up in Minefield.

_Ella Rhodes_

_-November 16th, 2277-_

 

Ella woke from her sleep, a little stiff from the floor underneath her, but the sleeping bag had helped a little. It had kept her a little more warm than she had expected when she'd taken the thing up to the attic.

Charon was sitting next to her, leaning against the wall, his legs fully stretched out before him and the little yellow book open in his hands. There were extra blankets that were hung from the ceiling, creating little 'rooms' within the attic to help with privacy, she and Charon were in their own little corner.

“Read me one?” She asked. She would take anything as a distraction right now, anything to lighten the news they'd gotten the night before.

He looked over, apparently was unaware that she'd woken up, “I thought you had read all of them when you were inking it.”

She smiled back up at him, “Does it matter?”

He took it as an acceptable answer, closed the book and reopened it to a random page. She recalled that it was the poem that had been dedicated to him as he began to read it.

“The river is dark,

against the moonlit banks.

A figure in black,

moves through the ranks -

 

Of the waves that ripple,

against his boat.

I see him there,

and he said to me, quote:

 

'I am the ferryman,

of the river Styx.

Come with me,

and try no tricks.'

 

'I can't be dead,'

I told him so,

'It's not something I can prove,

I just somehow know.'

 

'I am the ferryman,'

His hood replied,

'And you sir,

have definitely died.

 

But this is not the time,

for here nor there.

You must come aboard,

and pay the fare-

 

Else your fate ends,

on the bank of these shores.

Like so many behind you,

who want what is yours.'

 

I looked away,

only to see,

that which he had spoken of,

and it made me flee-

 

Right into his boat,

and paid him his fee,

for behind me had been,

the Marquis-

 

Of Winchester,

whom I had read,

in the paper with breakfast,

was that night good and dead.

 

The ferryman took up his oar,

and began to row,

across the lapping water,

with speed against the flow.

 

We traveled my life,

the memories I saw,

had me in tears,

and completely in awe.

 

The good and the bad,

decided my fate.

All the things I could've done,

but all of it too late.

 

When the beasts came toward me,

with their razor sharp claws,

the ferryman took up his paddle,

and gave them all pause.

 

'This man may have not,

done all that he could.

But that does not mean,

that he didn't do good.'

 

The monsters scrambled away,

too scared of the man,

who had just saved me from torture.

I had to know, so I began-

 

'Why did you save me?

From this terrible fate?

Shouldn't I suffer?

To be the one to sate-

 

the hunger of monsters?

I am no paragon,

I had not any appreciation,

for those who loved me, and whom are now gone.'

 

'That may be so,'

Spoke he,

'But love does not need,

appreciation to _be-_

 

I have waited so long,

for you to come.'

The ferryman grabbed his hood,

and with a hum-

 

He threw it back,

and I was stunned.

There in the boat beside me,

was the man I had shunned.

 

Tears came to my eyes,

because he was my brother,

and I could never mistake him,

for being any other.”

 

She remembered the note afterwards, _For John Tennyson_.

“What did you think?”

“I thought it was sweet,” She replied.

He chuckled, “It's just like him to make my death about him.”

She smiled despite herself, “He _dedicated_ it to _you_.”

The good humor hadn't left him, “It was still about _him_.”

“He made you a deity.”

“A deity who does nothing but ferry people all day.”

She laughed and pointed out, “You're the one named _Charon_. He just used the name you already had.”

He shrugged.

She hummed, “Breakfast?”

“Sure.”

 

They went downstairs together, in the little mock foyer Sarah was standing by the door, looking out into the snow. It was still coming down.

“You have breakfast yet?”

Sarah turned, surprised, “Oh... no... not yet.”

She looked between Sarah and the white landscape beyond the door, “You thinking about leaving?”

Sarah turned back to the outside world, “I'll have to.”

“Where will you go then?”

“Back to the Citadel, of course,” Sarah sighed, “I'll have to tell my father about what's happened.”

“And you'll be leaving my brother and Cross behind?”

“I have to,” She replied, “What am I supposed to do? Track the Enclave back to their base, infiltrate them and find Jamie miraculously alive? They don't need him... he's probably already dead.”

“ _Don't_ say that.”

Sarah turned back to look at her, “I'm not saying it to be cruel to you. He doesn't have anything that the Enclave wants.”

“He's alive, I know it.”

She shook her head, closed the door, and passed her to enter the living room. Ella stood there, listening as Sarah sat to talk with Moira and say her goodbyes to the little ghoul woman. She would be gone before the end of the day.

She instead went through to the kitchen, finding that Cassidy had already made up heaps of food, thanks to the relief of supplies that the Little Lamplighters' scav team always seemed to get.

 

 

_James Rhodes, Jr._

_-November 16th, 2277-_

 

The next morning, the assistant reappeared, holding a tray of breakfast. It looked good, but he knew that he probably wouldn't get it, the Enclave wanted something from him, but he just didn't know what it was yet. Until he gave them the answers, they'd keep with-holding food from him.

The young woman holding the tray though, stood so perfectly still that it unnerved him. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with her, she was about average height, toned (if a little on the skinny side), with a creamy freckled face, brown eyes, and brown-red hair in a bob.

She was too perfect, he realized, after spending a little bit of time examining her through the glass. She couldn't have been human, she was synthetic. He'd seen maybe one or two synths before, more realistic looking than she was, but he guessed she was just some pretty little model of synth that wasn't meant for the outside life.

Although she didn't shrink away or become uncomfortable by his staring, her eyes moved slightly as he went about the room. She was watching him back.

After nearly twenty minutes of pacing, he decided to go and stand at the glass just in front of her, staring her down, with her returning it with a blank look. Her eyes darted to the door, then two quiet steps forward, she took a piece of food from the plate and held it through the opening. He hesitated, but grabbed it.

What was it supposed to be? He didn't know, so he took a small bite of it. It was brown and fried, not tasting of much, but it was better than most of the slop he'd eaten while out in the wasteland. Or while he was wasted.

As he finished the piece, she took two steps back, going back to her original position. He opened his mouth to talk to her, the door opened, and in came the man he remembered from the Jefferson Memorial.

“Good morning, Mr Rhodes. I assume you've slept well.”

He'd slept great, “Well enough. Maybe next time get me some pillows that aren't so stiff.”

The man smiled, “We'll take that into consideration. As long as you will take into consideration a few of the Presidents' questions.”

“What kind of questions?”

“There's a few,” The man replied, “First would be the code for the purifier. What is it?”

Jamie laughed, “How am I supposed to know?”

“You were a part of the project, even before this recent attempt. Our intel says that you spent from the age of twelve to sixteen at the Memorial.”

“So? Doesn't mean I know it.”

The man hummed, “Perhaps not. But maybe with the right motivation, you'll remember.”

He shifted from one foot to the other, “And the other questions?”

“Oh yes, a few, but the only important one includes one of our own soldiers.”

He laughed, “I don't know anyone from the Enclave. Beside _you._ ”

The man smiled in return, “No, we are very sure you know him. He hasn't been a soldier for the U.S Army in awhile, and we plan to reenlist him.”

He took a holotape player from his coat and played it.

The holotape began to play, a second or two of static, then a sigh that sounded like his father. After that, the dead mans' voice came over the speaker.

“Note to self: Look into a ghoul named Charon. Possible service record in the U.S Army, possibly search old military bases?”

The man stopped the player, put it back into his coat, when it came back out, the hand was holding a file, and he flipped it open nonchalantly.

“You know the man named Charon? I'd guess you would, since you spent a great deal of time with you father just prior to his death.”

“I don't.”

“If you did, though, you'd be doing a great deal for your country.”

“I don't know anything about a man named Charon.”

“That's a shame.”

He put away the file, and like the night before, the man upended the tray of food, letting it clatter down to the floor. He turned to leave, the synthetic woman followed him.

He paused at the door, “Just so you know, our scouts are looking for him, at this very moment. I'd advise you remember his location before we uncover it ourselves.”

 

 

Butch DeLoria

-November 17th, 2277-

 

Once the straight jacket was made, he made quick work of the rest of Breadboxs' overgrown hair. It was now cropped down short, and even though the old man was now bound, he made sure to never lose his grip on the scissors he used. It was usually either Jeanette or Bleak who fed Breadbox in the morning, something that was mashed up to hell and back so that he could eat it easier, and he seemed content with his new life without the use of his arms.

Of course once in awhile, the buckles were undone so that he could keep his arms from going too stiff, but it was always under the strict supervision of Doc Church.

After breakfast, the Little Lamplight scavenger team made ready to go out again, except this time they were taking anyone else who wanted to go. He'd heard their Mayor whispering with them, something about gaining their favor by 'teachin' the idiot mungos how to hunt'.

He offered to go. He hadn't had much time behind a gun, but he knew how to hold one, and he wanted to be useful to everyone else. Even if it meant letting three snot-nosed brats teach him a thing or two. They had to know some tell or some sort of sign to find nests of the hibernating animals.

They welcomed him, and they all left together, the four of them and three dogs, going the opposite way of the water tower, and heading past the blocked off house.

“See that there?” Penny asked him.

“What, where?”

She pointed it out, “How the snow seems to not be in that one area?”

“What about it?”

“It's from the heat,” She replied, “It's a nest, and their body heat is keeping the entrance to their burrows clear.”

“Huh. So how do you find nests when its' not snowing outside?”

“Explore around and find a place that has something to eat. If it's like... a molerat, its' nest will be someplace nearby, but you'll have to look real close, sometimes they hide their entrances.”

“What would you look for?”

“Mostly it's what would you _smell_ for,” Sammy chimed in, “There's almost always a smell coming from it. If you've ever smelled wet molerat, it's that smell.”

“Giant ants will usually stay around their own tunnels...” Penny went on, “So it's pretty easy to find if you spot one of 'em and just follow it back. Radroaches don't really have nests, but they like to hang out in old buildings. Anything that's dark, and you'll find 'em. Anything larger than that and you don't want to find it.”

“What about Yao Guai?”

Penny looked at him, “You don't want to fight a Yao Guai.”

“Ella did.”

“Then she was fuckin' lucky,” Sammy said, “Goin' straight at it will only piss it off. Deathclaws too.”

“What's a Deathclaw?”

The three of them stopped, “You don't know what _Deathclaws_ are?”

He shrugged, “I grew up in a Vault.”

The three of them shared a look, “You poor fucker.”

Penny elbowed Sammy. They went to the opening of the molerat nest, Penny clambored up the hill above it.

“All right, get your gun out. You know how to shoot it, right Vaulty?”

“I know how to shoot,” He complained at them, “Ella taught me.”

“You've got that going for you.”

Penny began to jump up and down on top of the hill above the molerat nest, and almost as it had begun, the noises of molerats started up from inside. The curious noises soon became angry screeching as they clawed out of the hole and into their lines of sight.

The shooting began, but it was quick and there was not really a chance to miss. Only three molerats came out, but they were dead before they reached him, Sammy, and Squirrel. Penny came down from the hill.

He thought that they would be done, but Sammy pulled a knife from his belt and crawled into the hole that the molerats were just in.

“How's it smell?” Penny asked him.

“Like Molerat shit!” He replied.

When he came back, it was with a baby molerat, “Looks like all the other little ones got eaten up by somethin' else before.”

He thought it was kind of cute, it hadn't even opened its' eyes yet, “You're not gunna kill it, are you?”

“Why not?” Sammy replied, “It'll die without these ones anyways.”

He shrugged, “It's kinda cute.”

The three laughed, “All right, if it's so cute, then you raise it. Tell us how that works out for you when its' all grown up.”

Sammy shoved the little ratling into his hands, and the three of them went on to gather up the corpses, “But you gotta carry one back anyways.”

The baby molerat was squirming and squealing from the cold, so he tucked it into his jacket and went about helping the Lamplighters gather up the remains' of its' family. Once inside the protection of his jacket, it nestled against his chest and fell back asleep.

They had carried the three molerat corpses back to the blasted out building at the end of the street when they saw something that hadn't been in Minefield before.

“What the _hell_ is that?”

The four of them, and with some insistent tugging the three dogs, pressed themselves against the side of the building and looked on the scene.

“That's that thing that flew,” Penny said in awe, “Sarah said it was the _Enclave_.”

 

 

_Ella Rhodes_

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

When they heard the noise that came from outside, every person had jumped up to attention, peeking out through the gaps in the boarded up windows. A few moments later, Stockholm appeared on the top of the stairs, “There's three of 'em. One's in power-armor.”

There was some sound of acknowledgment so Stockholm turned and disappeared to go back to his post. From what little she could see through the gaps and between everyone who was crowded around the windows, there were two men stepping out of some old pre-war vertibird. She'd only seen them in old military manuals that were part of one of their classes in the vault. A man in a dusty tan trench coat emerged alongside someone in power-armor. The pilot stayed where they were.

The two came to the door, and the man in the long coat knocked politely.

“What do we do?”

There was silence for what felt like a few minutes, but it couldn't have been more than one. The man knocked on the door again, and waited patiently for someone to open it. They couldn't just ignore it, because it seemed as though they definitely knew that there was someone living here, one of the kids had told them immediately that they had recognized them as Enclave. They had been responsible for her fathers' death, for Megaton and the deaths of the people of Megaton who could not escape in time, and for abducting, and presumably the killing, of her brother.

What did they know about them? Did they know that the survivors of Megaton had come here? Did they know about the Little Lamplighters that had come here from Vault 87? Did they know about Sarah, and that she'd left the previous day? Did they know about her, and that she was here? What did they want?

There was no avoiding it, because he had knocked on the door again, and it seemed that he wouldn't leave until someone would answer.

“Everyone, hide,” She said. The others did so, but little Mayor MacCready and the other Lamplighters, but in the end they eventually went to find a hiding place. Most everyone stood in the kitchen where they couldn't be seen from the front door.

The dresser was moved, and when her hand closed around the door knob, Charon stopped her.

“Let me,” He said quietly to her, “It's too dangerous.”

She relented, and stood to the side, behind the door. He opened up the door, his shotgun in his hand, just in case. She couldn't see the man, but she could hear him greet Charon.

“Hello,” He said amicably, “I am Colonel Autumn, we're looking for a former U.S soldier named John Tennyson... others may call him by a nickname... 'Charon'.”

Ella could see from beside him that Charon tensed up immediately. She was confused and a little scared, how did they know his name? How did they know he was here? What did they want with him.

“Nobody by that name here.”

“Uh-huh,” Colonel Autumn drawled, “I suppose you just happen to fit his approximate height and weight then?”

“Must be.”

“I have done some readin' up on the Tennyson file, read about the work done to him,” He said, “The _contract_. Now, if I could talk to the contract-holder?”

She shook her head, hoping he'd be able to see it out of the corners of his vision, “The guy you're looking for isn't here.”

Ella could hear him take a long breath in, then sigh, then continued the conversation, “I'll put this another way, Soldier, the contract-holder is to come to the door and speak with me, or this man right here is going to fill this house with bullets.”

Damn him, and damn the Enclave. She grabbed the door and stepped into view, practically pushing Charon out of the way. Hopefully they could talk and come to an agreement before making any rash decisions. She wasn't holding out much hope though.

“What do you want?”

He introduced himself again, but she didn't return the favor. He went on with what he wanted, or something like that, “President Eden is offering a _very_ substantial compensation in exchange for Private Tennysons' contract.”

“Corporal.”

“Substantial as it may be, I must decline the offer.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it is so.”

He nodded once, “Perhaps instead, you'd like to come and speak to the President himself? You may reconsider.”

“I will not reconsider.”

“Really?” He sighed, “Because our intel says there's a few people in this house, not just you and Corporal Tennyson.”

“Are you threatening me?”

He shrugged, “Perhaps. Do you think I'm threatening you?”

She frowned at him, but she needed to accept the offer. She felt a little guilty, because protecting everyone in the house wasn't her only motivation. If this man took her to the Enclave base, maybe she'd find Jamie.

“Fine. Give me a few moments to gather some things,” She replied, then shut the door on him.

“What?” Cassidy asked breathlessly, “You're going with that guy?”

“And have to fight them?”

“We can take 'em on,” Mayor MacCready said.

She shook her head, “We've never been up against _anyone_ who used power-armor. He'll kill a lot more of us before we'd be able to take him down.”

“What's to say that they won't kill us all anyways?”

There wasn't any promise that it wouldn't happen, “I don't know. If it comes to that... everyone should get ready to run.”

She and Cassidy shared a long look. Ever since they'd escaped the Vault, they had hardly been apart, and now she felt like Jamie who'd told her before he'd left for Vault 87 the first time about her niece. It felt like this might be the last time they were together.

“Cass, if I die, and if Jamies' dead, please go to Tenpenny Tower. His daughter... my niece... she's there. I... I don't even know her name... but she's there.”

Cassidy did nothing but nod, then turned and began to make the preparations to hightail it out of there. Watson was sent up for bags, including her own bag that she'd left full, just to keep all her things together. The others began to stuff the bags full of food as she turned to leave.

Colonel Autumn was waiting for them, and helped her up into the Vertibird. Her heart was up in her throat when the beast of a machine began to whir to life loudly, and began to ascend.

She just hoped that everyone would come out of this alive.

 


	34. Split

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Enclave attack Minefield.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***Warning: Non-descriptive Dog Death in this chapter***

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

She watched through the gaps in the boards as Ella and Charon stepped up into the Vertibird, the huge thing started up again and seemed to be even louder than it had been before. She was holding her breath as the Vertibird disappeared into the sky. The sound began to grow fainter and fainter, until it had vanished completely, leaving only the strange silence outside, and the combination of everyone's labored breathing inside, waiting to see what would happen.

Cassidy finally breathed out after a number of minutes went by without anything alarming happening. Letting her bag fall to the floor she turned away from the window and checked over everyone who was still crowded around the little foyer and kitchen.

A shot rang out from above them, causing her to jump, then another one in quick succession. She looked back through the boarded windows, seeing nothing at first, but then through the snow came marching a band of what had to be more Enclave soldiers. Some of them were wearing Power Armor, the other soldiers seemed to be taking shelter behind them as they exchanged fire with Stockholm.

“Out the window,” She shouted over the sounds of the gunfire, “Hurry!”

The window in the kitchen had already been opened, and the first one out was Doc Church, who helped pull the children out through the window. Of the children, the first out were the Little Lamplighters, who took to scrambling up the side of the cliff.

“Where are you going?” The doctor shouted up at them, as he continued to help everyone leave the building that was being fired upon.

A crashing sound upstairs happened, and Cassidy hoped that Stockholm hadn't been shot, but a few moments later, the sound of his sniper rifle resumed above them.

“We're getting the fuck out of here!” Mayor MacCready shouted, Cassidy came to the window and craned her head up to look at him as he and the Lamplighters crawled up the rocky cliff-side with ease, “We don't need no mungos!”

In moments they were gone, leaving behind their dogs and Bumble, who stood at the base of the cliff crying because she couldn't get enough of a grip to follow after everyone else. Cassidy crawled through the window ahead of some of the others and came to the young girl and hauled her up in her arms, shushing her as Bumble bawled into her shoulder.

Harden was behind Doc Church, watching the soldiers with his rifle ready to lay down some cover fire, should the Enclave men realize how they were escaping. Maggie stood on the opposite side of the window from Doc Church, helping the others out as best she could.

Next came out Moira and Jeanette, the two ghoul women were hauling some of the bags of food that Cassidy had left behind, and they settle the loads against the houses' siding quickly. She handed Bumble off to Jeanette, and took up one of the backpacks and secured it to herself with the buckles that it had. Moira did the same with one of them as well.

Then came Breadbox, who had to be pulled out by Doc Church and pushed by Bleak and Rory, who followed out after him and secured their own backpacks.

All through this, the firefight and the sounds of glass crashing continued on in the house. Watson, Walter, Rory, Bronson, Gob, and the dogs came out afterwards, Dogmeat came over to stand protectively in front of her as she took Bumble back from Jeanette, so that the old ghoul could take a backpack. She was weak from her time as a slave, and was struggling to hold onto the crying six-year-old, so a backpack was a more logical choice for her.

“Stockholm!” She shouted upwards, “Clear!”

As she said that, Bleak shouted from beside her, “Bronson! Get back here you idiot!”

Cassidy turned to see that Bronson, the man that had needed to sober up and absolutely hated doing so, running away and towards the direction of what were now the ruins of Paradise Falls. She couldn't keep her attention on him for long, as Stockholm shouted back down to her.

“Cover me!”

She handed Bumble off again, this time to Doc Church, who began leading the rest of the survivors north against the cliffs to provide them with better cover from the soldiers. Cassidy stood next to Harden and Watson, and was surprised to see that Gob joined them with a pistol of his own, and the four of them began to fire upon the Enclave.

With their attention drawn away from Stockholm (other shots came from the other side of the squad, further halving their power as half of them turned to cover their rear), he made a leap from the top of the house to the cliff-side.

“What the _fuck_?” She yelled up at him.

“ _Fire!_ ” Was all he shouted back as he disappeared from her view, and his sniper shots resumed. Despite them being outnumbered and flanked, the Enclave pushed forward into Minefield, their attackers on the other side of them high-tailing it out of there, which caused the soldiers to give them their full attention.

“Retreat!” She shouted, hoping that it would carry over the gunshots enough for Stockholm to hear. She ushered Watson and Harden to go, as she and Gob continued to fire from around the corner of the house, she could hear flames spreading throughout it, consuming what had been their home for such a short amount of time.

Everyone else must've been far enough away, so she and Gob ducked back against the house and ran for the shelter of the cliffs as the Enclave approached. Stockholms' shots left, and she hoped that it was because he'd fallen back instead of died.

Looking out into the open, she watched as Bronson continued to run, and hoped that he would make it to wherever he was going. That hope faded when more shots rung out from behind them, and Bronson crumbled to the ground.

She couldn't dwell on it now, as Gob pulled her along when she fell behind, and they reunited with the rest of their group, quickly coming up where the cliffs lowered to meet the ground. Ahead of them was Stockholm, watching their progress to where he was standing on a spot of the cliff that was no more than a foot or two above them.

He looked behind him before they approached, “I'm going to follow the kids,” He said, “They're heading off North-East.”

“They're little idiots,” She replied with a frown, “We're stronger together.”

“But... are we though?” Came Bleaks' voice from behind Jeanette, “Numbers are fine and all, but its' easier to hide out in smaller places when there's only a few of you.”

“You can't seriously mean that,” She replied, “There's strength in our numbers.”

“Not really,” She replied, “Not when we're up against the Enclave, and I don't know about everyone else, but whatever the Enclave want with you guys, I don't want any part of it. I'm leaving.”

“Bleak, don't go,” Cassidy said, “We'll figure something out, and we're safer as a group.”

“We're slower as a group,” Bleak replied, “Nothing you say changes that.”

She turned and began to walk away from them. It was quiet for a few moments, then Rory followed after her, as well as one of the Little Lamplight dogs, who seemed to have taken a liking to Rory because he had shared a little bit of food with the underweight mutt named Hooligan.

A minute or two passed, but nobody else left, and she was thankful both for that Bleak wouldn't be alone and that most of them were staying together. Some of them didn't have a choice, like Breadbox, who didn't seem to be aware of what was going on, and was just humming to himself next to Doc Church, who kept a good grip on him.

“So... I'm going to go follow the kids, make sure they don't run into raiders or anything,” Stockholm said.

Cassidy sighed, “Sure. Try to meet back up with us if you can... I don't know where we'll go, but maybe North?”

He nodded, and left from the cliff, audibly running after to make sure that the Lamplighters were okay.

“What do we do now?” Watson asked her.

She shrugged, “Find somewhere for the night,” Cassidy looked around at their remaining people, thinking about what to do, “Can you scout ahead?”

Watson nodded, and left ahead of them. They followed in the direction that Watson had taken, hopefully they'd find a place suitable before the sun set and it got colder. At some point, Bumble made her way back into her arms as they walked.

There was no time to think about any of the others, and no time to think about if her brother was alive or not.

 

 

_Butch DeLoria_

- _November 17, 2277_ -

 

He, Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny watched as Ella and Charon exited the house and were taken up into the Enclave vertibird, and watched as the thing took off. There had to have been a reason that Ella had done that, but he couldn't think of one, and the only thing that caused him to hesitate in their return to the house was that no one had come out with her to say good-bye. What was that about?

They watched, the kids were silent as they watched the house, and then there came the first shot. It echoed against the cliff, and Butch looked up to the roof where Stockholms' crows' nest was at, finding that he was shooting and taking cover when he could. Other shots began, somewhat ahead of where they were hiding at the South end of Minefield.

The troop of soldiers came into view, advancing towards the house a few paces as a time as they exchange gunfire with Stockholm. There was some garbled shouting, but Butch couldn't make out whether it was coming from the Enclave guys or if it was coming from the house, and he couldn't make out the words at all.

Something was thrown from the Enclave, the item crashed through one of the upstairs windows. A few more of the items were thrown while the firefight continued on, the bright orange of flames appearing through the upstairs, and smoke began to rise from the windows. Another something was shouted as Stockholm ducked for cover, and this time he sort of caught what was said when the sniper shouted back.

“Cover me!”

More gunfire came, but this time from outside the house, he couldn't see where it was coming from, but he knew that it must have been everyone else from the house. Just out of the corner of his eye could he make out the children of Little Lamplight running at the top of the cliffs in the opposite direction of their own position. Sammy, Squirrel, and Penny also saw, curses towards their Mayor and the Enclave came from them.

“We should cover their escape,” He said.

“You're crazy,” Squirrel said, “They'll just focus on us then.”

He pointed out where they were concentrating the fire, “They're worried about them, right now. We won't have _all_ of their attention.”

“Idiot,” Penny said, but pulled out her gun anyways. She was the first to fire a shot, and Butch fumbled for his pistol and followed her lead. They had a good vantage point, being that their cover was an entire car wall.

They exchanged fire, but the Enclaves' bullets only found the steel of the car frames. Not like their own bullets did much damage, as it seemed that the men in the power-armor soaked up most of the firefight.

One of their dogs leapt forward, going after the Enclave, and for a moment the enemy soldiers didn't know what to do as the three children cried out for their bad dog to come back. The dog was able to bite someones' leg before another Enclave soldier casually shot the dog in the face.

Penny gasped, “Pete!”

The dog crumbled. They exchanged a few more rounds of bullets, but they found the Stockholm had made it safely away from the roof, which was quickly becoming consumed in flames.

“We should go,” Squirrel said, backing away from their cover and running down the line of stacked cars. The rest of them followed after, and they came to the far end of Minefield.

Butch looked down the empty field, seeing someone running.

“We could go his direction, then cut across and North to meet back up with the others,” He suggested.

“Good ide-” Sammy replied, when more shots rang out and whoever was running fell to the ground.

“Shit!” He breathed. Squirrel tugged on his jacket sleeve and led them South, and they ran as fast as they could towards the outcropping of rocks where they could take cover, still hauling the meat molerats they'd killed, and hopefully they could sneak away from view quietly.

When they made it, they crouched down against the rocks and snow and watched the movement down in Minefield. The house that they had previously lived in was now mostly up in flames, dark smoke poured out from it.

The guys who had assaulted Minefield were searching around for them, but it wouldn't take much for them to follow a trail in the snow.

“Well, what the fuck do we do now?” Sammy asked no one in particular.

Butch thought for a little while, looking at their surroundings, “There's a junkyard further this way... when we went past it, it was all empty.”

“What about them?” Penny asked, they were still all watching the soldiers as they made their way about securing the perimeter.

He shrugged, “We don't really have anywhere else to go... and it's going to get dark and colder sometime.”

“Yeah,” Squirrel said, “We should get as far away as possible. Even if they follow us to the junkyard, we can keep going if we have to.”

The other two nodded, and they sat and watched for an opening, then ran like hell up the rocks and towards the safety of the junkyard.

 

 

_Robert Joseph MacCready_

_-November 17, 2277-_

 

They were far enough away that he couldn't hear the sound of gunfire anymore. They'd past some make-shift shelter out of a train, and kept going in search of something further away. If they were really in a bind, they could double back.

They stopped for a breath, and then one of those mungos from Minefield came up. He was that weird sniper who never came down from the attic, not even to eat. All his food had been brought up to him.

Down on the ground he looked kind of weird, like he wasn't used to being this low to the ground. He might've been.

“Piss off, mungo, we don't need no help from you,” He said to the mungo sniper.

The mungo shrugged, “Not many of you guys have guns.”

He frowned at the mungo, he had his own rifle, and he could protect his people if he needed to, “We don't need your 'protection', mungo.”

“He's right,” Lucy said. At first he thought that she was agreeing with him, but it turned out she was agreeing with the mungo, “You and Knick Knack are the only ones armed.”

He looked around, the others were oddly quiet. He didn't like it, “What are you talking about? Biwwy has a gun.”

“I sowd mine,” Biwwy said, “To that Jamie guy.”

“What? Why would you sell your lazer rifle to him?”

Biwwy shrugged, “I wanted the caps. So when the scavenger team went out again, they couwd buy something for me.”

“We still don't need no mungo.”

“It would be better to go with him and back to the other mungos,” Lucy said, “We left behind Sammy, Squirrel, Penny, Bumble, and all our guard dogs.”

“The scavenger team can handle themselves, and Bumble's with the mungos. She'll be fine. And we'll be fine without all the dogs... not like they took commands anyways.”

“How can you say that? We can't just leave them, we're _all_ Lamplighters,” Lucy huffed, “I'm going back to the rest of the mungos.”

“ _Fine!_ ” He spat back, “But we don't need no mungos. The rest of us will go and find shelter by ourselves.”

He turned and began to walk away, and it was almost a minute before he realized that no one was following him. He turned back around to look at the others, the traitorous wretches were shuffling their feet and looking away.

They were leaving him.

He frowned, too angry now to not shout, “Fine! _I_ don't need no mungo to help me out! And I don't need any of _you_ either!”

He left, the others were shouting, calling his name and trying to call him back to them. He didn't need them, he could only rely on himself.

 


	35. The Longest Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Charon arrive at Raven Rock, Cassidy and the other survivors of Minefield find shelter for the night as Butch and the scavenger team do the same.

_Ella Rhodes_

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

The ride was scary, because not only was the vertibird extremely loud, they were high up, and it didn't help that the thick fog below them concealed what the exact distance might have been. Colonel Autumn decided that this was a good time to make some small talk, as she clung to Charon as tightly as she could away from the open side.

“We, the President and I, were very lucky when we found your files, and we were also immensely astounded that you'd made your way to D.C considering your last listed know location in Kansas.”

She could plainly feel Charon tense up under her touch, but he stayed quiet.

The fake smile dropped from Colonel Autumn before he resumed it when he turned towards her, “We haven't had the luxury of having a formal introduction,” And he extended a hand to shake hers as though this were some pleasant meeting.

“Ella Rhodes,” She tried to say it as calmly as possible, and also tried not to attempt to shout it over the engine roar.

His face froze for a moment, and then he picked up the pace with the conversation by switching to talking about the weather, and how crazy it was that there was this much snow at this time of year. That brief second when he had faltered though, it made her stomach freeze up inside her because she had recognized the name. She had gone into this assuming that he either knew who she was already, or that he didn't know her family personally.

The former, she would have thought they might have uncovered some information at the memorial, or the latter, that her father hadn't mattered enough to the Enclave for them to even know his name. Both of these were now very obviously untrue.

It could have also meant that they hadn't killed Jamie... if they knew his name and that she shared it, they would know that she was in some way related to him. She could save him if she were just smart enough or sneaky enough. When they'd get there, hopefully they'd be shown around before given some time to think about the 'compensation' for Charons' contract, then they can figure out a plan from what they'd seen.

The vertibird landed with a shake, jolting her as she hadn't even known that they were descending because of how thick the fog was. Colonel Autumn talked quietly with someone as they landed, and as the soldier sped away, the Colonel stepped from the vertibird and helped her down. She didn't want to touch him, but her legs felt like pudding, and Charon followed after her, and she took the chance she had to lean on him for support.

Instead of entering the door nearby, Colonel Autumn took them to edge of the roof they had landed on. A minute or two of standing there in silence, some of the fog rolled away to reveal the Capital Wasteland.

She was in awe, she could see everything from where they were. She could see the black spot where Megaton once had been, she could see a shimmering in the distance around the Jefferson Memorial, Rivet City was just a dot on the horizon after that, along with all of downtown DC. There was only a few moments to gaze at it all, however, because the fog moved again and swallowed everything up.

“You have a unique last name...” He said when the view had faded away.

“I wouldn't know,” She replied, trying to sound calm, and she thought that she did a pretty good job at it, “I've always had it.”

Colonel Autumn hummed and nodded, “I suppose you'd never met anyone who's had that last name.”

She shrugged, “Besides my family, no.”

He was silent a moment, “I suppose everyone has to have a family.”

“It's kind of a requirement,” She was becoming more and more nervous, because this wasn't supposed to be happening, and she didn't like where it was heading.

The door near the vertibird pad opened, the three of them turned, and her breath caught in her throat when she saw two Enclave soldiers dragging Jamie out into the cold with nothing but what looked to be a thin set of scrubs. He was handcuffed and visibly shivered instantly, his breath came out in large bursts of steam.

“So, I suppose the first order of business is the contract,” Colonel Autumn said with a coldly even voice, “I'll trade the contract for his life.”

“ _Don't do it_ ,” Jamie said, but was stopped from speaking anymore when one of the soldiers used their rifle to hit him in the back of the head and knock him to the ground.

She tensed up, and for a few long minutes she couldn't do anything, not even move, she could only stare at her brother. Everything had suddenly become so much more complicated, or maybe she had just realized just out of her depth she actually was.

Even if she and Charon began shooting, they wouldn't be able to take all of them out before either of them or Jamie were killed, and there was most definitely more than just the gathering of men on this rooftop. There could be hundreds of soldiers just below them, ready and waiting to shoot them where they stood. If she didn't give the contract, then they'd kill Jamie, and then they'd have to try to fight their way out anyways, and there was a high chance that she'd die anyways.

If she gave him Charons' contract though, at least they'd have a little bit of time, Jamie would be alive, and maybe they could come up with a plan to get Charon back. If she didn't, there wouldn't be any chance of even attempting such a thing.

The movement of Colonel Autumn as he stepped past she and Charon jolted her out of her thoughts. He walked across and to Jamie, and around him to stand directly behind him, “Is that your decision?” He asked to her silence.

She turned to Charon, he was as tense as she was, and watching the Colonel like an angry feral dog, like he wanted to rip his throat out with his teeth.

A breath, then two, Charon looked down at her from the corner of his eyes, then she tried to speak, “I...”

She swallowed, her mouth was suddenly very dry, she whispered to him so that Colonel Autumn couldn't hear her, “I can't let them kill him... I'm sorry.”

She thought that he'd stay silent, or that he'd hate her, but instead he said, “I understand.”

She wished that he'd hate her instead, she turned back to Colonel Autumn.

“Okay,” It was the only thing she could force out of her mouth in his direction. The Colonel smiled and walked back around Jamie, who was at a loss for words, and came to stand in front of her. She pulled her notebook from her jacket, and took the contract from between the pages, handing it carefully over to Colonel Autumn.

She looked back to Charon, he was frowning, but he kept the rest of his face carefully blank, “I'll come back for you. I promise,” She told him.

“I kind of doubt that,” Colonel Autumn said, and when she turned back to him, she only had a half of a second to bring her hand up to try to protect herself.

Then the gunshot.

 

 

_James Rhodes, Jr._

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

Ella crumbled to the ground, her head hit the concrete roof with a sickening thud. She wasn't dead, but she was bleeding, and the blow to the back of her head had either knocked her completely unconscious, or she had been stunned and unable to move.

Colonel Autumn holstered his gun, “Bring H-Eight-Ninety-Three here to watch Mr Rhodes. Leave him here through the night, make sure he watches her die. Then maybe he'll give up the code.”

He strolled past him, Charon followed, his jaw was set and clenched as he had to follow the new owner of the contract. Colonel Autumn stopped near him for a moment, “This could have been avoided, you know. See you in the morning.”

The Colonel and Charon disappeared into the door, and the synth girl came out, and the other men returned to the warmth of the base. The synth came to stand next to where he was kneeling.

 

Ella didn't stir.

 

 

_Butch DeLoria_

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

He, Sammy, Squirrel, Penny, and the two dogs, Ginger and Rex, searched through the entirety of the Junkyard to make sure they were truly alone. By the time they'd made sure the entire place was clear, it was getting dark, and Squirrel had already found an isolated area where they could build a fire and not have the light be visible to anyone outside the Junkyard. It would only give their position away if they weren't careful.

Sammy and Penny went off to find a tarp to set up above them in something like a roof, to keep the smoke from being too visible against the sky. If anything, it would help disperse it a little. And while they did all of that, he was busy with forcing open the nearest bus, and gathering things from wherever he could find them to make it more comfortable so they could sleep.

More tarps, cushions from old cars, and just about anything that could be scraped together. He'd even pocketed a hula-girl doll, he'd only ever seen one in an advertisement in the back of a La Coiffe. It was cute, and it was something to focus on instead of the fact that he didn't even know who was alive still or dead. Anyone and everyone could be dead, for all he knew.

A molerat was roasted up, and cut into chunks and divvied up between them. The dogs got to eat a good portion. His little molerat baby squirmed under his jacket, and he brought it out and fed it a little bit of the meat that had been cooked up. He didn't want to think about the implications of feeding roasted molerat meat to a baby molerat.

“You sure you want to keep the thing?” Sammy asked him.

He shrugged, “Why not?”

Sammy frowned, but before he could reply, Penny spoke up.

“What are you going to name it?”

He hadn't thought about naming it, and thought for a little while. It was a girl molerat, so it needed a girl name, and his first thought was of the pin-up girl that'd helped him through his most trying parts of his adolescence.

Would it be weird to name the molerat after her? Maybe, so instead he chose a nickname version of the name, “Dorrie.”

It was accepted by the children as an all right name, and they went back to doing the important things before turning in. The fire was put out, and the other two molerats were placed down in snow, and packed tightly with more from wherever they could find it. Keeping it cold was the best they could do.

“Who's going to be on watch?” Penny asked them.

“On watch?” He grumbled mostly to himself, “What about sleep?”

Squirrel made a sort of sound, “We can't just let people sneak up on us.”

“'Specially not the Enclave,” Sammy finished.

“Don't the dogs do that kind of thing?” He asked the children.

“Yeah, but only if they're real close up on us,” Squirrel replied, “We wanna know when they're comin' from far away so we can get a head start.”

“Not to mention tryin' to wake everyone elses' asses up,” Penny said.

He thought for a while about it. It was cold and _all_ of them were tired, not just himself. It would be extremely easy to spot anyone trying to approach them around all of the bright, slightly glowing, snow.

He had an idea of how to make this place safer, but he probably wouldn't have the time, nor the resources to do so. It would be late, even if he could figure out how to set it up properly, but then in the morning they were more likely to move on.

Move on to where, though?

“I'll take watch,” He sighed. He couldn't just let some kids, even if they were snot-nosed brats, stay up protecting them while he slept.

“Okay. Goodnight,” Sammy said immediately, the other two did as well. They weren't even attempting to argue him out of it. Sammy and Penny climbed up into the bus, but Squirrel stayed behind for a moment.

“Take one of the rifles with a scope, use that to make sure if you see anything off. Just... sit up on top of the bus and switch with me when the sun starts to rise.”

With that, Squirrel made for his own make-shift bedding, while Butch went about gathering what he needed to sit up on the roof of the bus. A cloth tarp to try to keep some warmth on him and a scoped hunting rifle. He was already too cold to deal with this shit, but he'd already _volunteered_ to it.

Used to be he and his sister ran things in the Vault. Well, not _everything_ , as the Overseer was a little too crazy. It was like he'd had his own gang, there wasn't much difference between those who were absolutely loyal to the Overseer and the Tunnel Snakes. But they had it good, so what happened?

He frowned. A big fish in a little pond, is only a small fish in the ocean. Brotch had told him and his sister that when they'd told the teacher that they were going to get out of the Vault and start running things above-ground. He'd never understood it until now.

His sister and Ella had gathered people, usually through no other reason than they could provide for people, and that they _wanted_ to. But even then, with people who could even hold their own in a battle, they were swatted down like they were nothing.

He _hated_ that. These men in their big fucking power-armor just came and took _everything_ away from them in a matter of minutes. Everything that _everyone_ had worked on.

He was also a little offended that they got past his turret so easily.

Well, if the Wastes were able to fuck with them so easily, then he needed something to fuck it back. They needed better armor, better guns, better everything. He was going to make his own little foothold in the Capitol Wasteland, and no Raider, Slaver, or Enclave Soldier was going to fuck with him anymore.

Butch sighed, and focused his efforts on watching the horizon for any threats, but it didn't look like the soldiers were interested in tracking them down.

 

 

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

It got dark quickly, and the only place they'd gotten near was Germantown. She was sure that nobody would want to stay there, considering that it had been a place inhabited by super-mutants just a short while ago, she knew that _she_ didn't want to stay there.

They weren't making good time with traveling either. If those Enclave soldiers had a mind to follow them, then they would have been swarmed hours earlier.

A small camp by the north door of Germantown was made, and they ate a little bit of what they had. Watson came back from scouting around.

The teenager gave her a look, and shook their head. There was nowhere for them to go.

She pulled Watson aside and talked quietly, “Absolutely nothing?”

“There's a few places,” Watson admitted, “But they're all farther away, and occupied from what I could see. Those that weren't didn't have any buildings still intact to set up camp in.”

Cassidy nodded, then a thought occurred to her, “Would you know where Big Town is?”

Watson shrugged, “Sure. But we won't be able to get there tonight.”

She sighed in response, “Maybe in the morning?”

“Maybe.”

“Would it be safe to get to from here?” She asked, realizing that she didn't even know where Big Town was.

“Directly south from here,” Watson replied, “We wouldn't cross paths with them unless they're heading in that direction for some reason.”

“Okay, good,” She sighed in relief. There was still one other problem though, “Any sign of Stockholm?”

“No, sorry.”

She just hoped that he and the Lamplighters had found someplace safe to stay for the night. As if on cue of her thinking of the Lamplighters, the only remaining one in their company woke up from her sleep, and began to cry because they were still out in the cold.

Bumble had been snuggled up to Dogmeat, Moira and Jeanette had been looking over the little girl while Cassidy had been trying to take care of everyone else. But Bumble liked her best, for whatever reason she could see. She hefted the girl up into her arms, then began to tell everyone else the dreaded news of them having to stay overnight in the Germantown Police building.

There were grumbles, but most of them were too tired to put up an argument, and so they opened the doors up and stepped inside. They made the closest room that wasn't completely covered in old blood their camp, and settled down where they could among the old desks.

They had to bundle together for warmth, but she, Watson, and Doc Church stayed awake for awhile longer, sitting and watching over the sleeping forms of everyone. Bumble had fallen back asleep on her lap, Dogmeat was curled up by her thigh, Bandit near Watson, and Muttface with Harden and Maggie.

She took in just how many people they still had. Even with being split up and the death of Bronson, they still had quite a few people. Despite her hating herself for thinking it, it was a detriment to each and every one of them.

Most of them had been from Megaton, where they had been safe all of their lives, and hadn't needed to face the wastes, or were slaves, and unused to fighting. With such a large group with very few of them knowing how to defend themselves and others, how had they even made it thus far without more death?

They all needed more experience, and a more secured place to stay and train. Most of them would be welcome in Rivet, probably the most fortified and well-guarded place in the wastes, but the people of Rivet City only _tolerated_ ghouls. That spelled trouble for Gob, Moira, and Jeanette. They could possibly go to Underworld, if she could retrace her steps through downtown DC.

But what then? Surely Rivet City already had a Doctor, and Doc Church would have to be the one to take care of Breadbox. What could a one-armed handyman like Walter be able to do? He wouldn't be able to hold down a job in Rivet City. And what who would take care of Harden and Maggie and Bumble? They were both orphans, and no on in Rivet City knew them, so why would they take on the extra mouths they had to feed?

And what would Gob, Moira, and Jeanette do in the Underworld? The short time she had been there, she'd noticed there wasn't much there. Sure they had shops, but who shopped there? Who went to the Underworld to trade? There were already many who were homeless and sleeping in hallways and corners and wherever else they could. But that was better than sleeping out in the wastes, right?

No, they didn't really have any place to go to. She didn't know what Big Town was like, and where would they go after that, if they weren't welcome.

“You should sleep,” Doc Church said to her, “You're too young to be stressing out and worrying over everything like that.”

She gave him a look, a silent question. How did he know?

“I can tell by the way you look. You look kind of angry, like someone stole that last dandy boy from your lunchbox.”

She sighed, “I guess I'll resume stressing over everything in the morning.”

 

 

_Charon_

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

He felt numb.

 

Ella was dead.

 

His new Employer, Colonel Autumn as he called himself, lead him through the base, showing off everything he could possibly think of. The troops, the armory, the food they had stockpiled... _everything_.

He wasn't interested.

Finally after hours of what seemed like nothing, Colonel Autumn showed him to his new quarters, stepping in ahead of him to show off what he thought was many grades above what he had available in the Capitol Wasteland.

It was just a simple private barracks room. Nothing special, but Colonel Autumn continued talking about how it was a luxury compared to the 'hovels of the wastes'.

Charon would have rather been in that dusty attic, sitting against a half-wall, uncomfortable and with the heads of nails pressing into his back, and the most beautiful girl laying next to him, curled up in a little ball of sleeping bag, and her hair splayed out around her.

Actually, he'd would have even rather been in the Ninth Circle, compared to this. Ahzrukhal may have been a mean bastard, but he hadn't taken Ella away from him.

“We have procured a set of fatigues for you, I'm sure you'll be more comfortable. Go on and change into them after I leave. We depart for the Memorial at Oh-Six-Hundred.”

“Yes, sir,” Charon replied flatly.

Colonel Autumn was about to leave, then turned, “Oh, and I'm happy to tell you, that you've been given a promotion. You're now Sargent Tennyson.”

“Yes, sir,” Charon echoed himself. The Colonel finally left the room, and he began to undress and change into the fatigues that he'd been given, just as he was ordered to. With that out of the way, he sat on the bed, and waited for 0600.

 


	36. A New Dawn Rises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie and H8-93 escape Raven Rock; Cross and Fawkes show up just in the nick of time; Cassidy, Watson, and Gob search for Stockholm and the Lamplighters; and Butch and the scav team return to Minefield to find it empty.

_James Rhodes Jr._

_-November 17th, 2277-_

 

He was sure his knees were frozen in place at this point, as he shivered to himself next to the synth woman named H8-93.

Ella was maybe a couple feet in front of them, and though she had stopped bleeding quickly, which would have normally given him some hope that she would survive, there was no way she would last to morning in the cold and without a doctor. He could still see her breathing, and was actually saddened that her suffering should be prolonged so much.

Just when it got its' darkest in the night, just before midnight, H8-93 stepped forward to Ella carefully. Then she did something that he hadn't expected.

The synth took Ellas' body in both arms, and drug her across the ground, but only enough to make a track in the snow to the edge of the roof where it met into cliffs, then picked her up and carried her away into the darkness.

No matter how much he squinted or strained, he couldn't see anything, but he kept trying.

 

_-November 18th, 2277-_

 

By the time that H8-93 came back, fresh snowfall had already covered his sisters' blood. The synth came back up and stood next to him as she had before, her footsteps blending in with those of soldiers who had been coming and going all day through the snow.

The sun was starting to rise, the clouds had thinned out and the sky was mostly blue. It was going to be a bright day, with the light of the sun reflecting off of the snow that still covered all of the Capitol Wasteland, but hopefully the temperature would heat up a little.

She spoke quietly, for the first time, “They told me she will survive.”

He opened his mouth to ask, but his teeth clattered together from the cold violently. It took him a few minutes before he could actually form the words of his question, “Who told you?”

H8-93 was quiet for another moment, “The Treeminders.”

He was about to ask another question, or at least get his teeth to stop chattering long enough to ask, when the door to the roof opened up. Out walked Colonel Autumn, well rested and looking chipper. Colonel Autumn happy is what was going to be his nightmares for a long time.

After him came Charon, his face dark and he was stuffed into stiff fatigues that looked like they'd been sitting on a shelf in some basement for two hundred years, and like if he made any large movements that the sleeves and pants would immediately ride up, or that he'd rip through them completely. Was it too much to ask to get a man into clothes that fit him?

Colonel Autumn noticed that Ella was gone immediately, and inquired about her rather loudly. H8-93 spoke to him in the same quiet tone that she'd spoken before, but obviously loud enough for Charon to hear.

“Miss Rhodes was dragged off by wild animals,” The synth lied. Colonel Autumn completely accepted the untruth with a smile on his face. He didn't even find anything wrong with it, like if there were wild animals that came to drag Ella away, why didn't they do anything to him or the synth woman? Or why weren't they scared away by their presence?

Colonel Autumn stood next to him for a few moments, before clearing his throat, “The code to the purifier?”

He was cold, too cold to even think at the moment, and really pissed off. Did it matter if he got the code?

It didn't matter if he had the code or not, something in his veins told him that things were going to be coming to a head very quickly anyways, and maybe he'd feel the satisfaction of wrapping his hands around the detestable mans' neck soon.

Maybe that was just frost bite. Or pneumonia.

“Five-One-Four,” He lied, through his chattering teeth.

The Colonel smiled, “Take him back inside. I want him alive, in case it's not the right code. If it isn't... I will be back for you.”

With that Colonel Autumn turned away and stepped up into one of the many vertibirds on the roof, Charon followed up after him. The vertibird roared to life and lifted from the roof slowly, then began to build up speed as it made its' way from the Enclave base. Soon they had disappeared out into the thin clouds.

H8-93 helped him up to his feet, and led him back into the base, the warmth of it was immediate and became too hot on his very cold skin. He began to sweat almost instantly. Before H8-93 could take him anywhere to get warmed up, an announcement came over the intercom system, from the nut who ran the entire Enclave, the guy who pretended to be the President of the United States on hi own personal radio station, John Henry _Motherfucking_ Eden.

“I would like to have a word... face to face with our guest Mr Rhodes,” He said, his voice garbled slightly, “Attention to all Raven Rock Personnel, I have invited our guest Mr Rhodes to come and see me in my office, do not impede him. Thank you for your cooperation.”

He guessed that the second message had been played throughout the base, while the first was localized. Eden began to speak again, and he thought it must have also been localized to them.

“H-Eight-Ninety-Three, please be a dear and escort Mr Rhodes to my office. Don't dally.”

“Yes, Mr President,” H8-93 replied. She then began to lead him through the base, but everything looked the same to him that he couldn't tell if they were actually going anywhere or if they were just walking around in a big circle. It must have been the former, because after awhile of walking, they finally came upon a few rooms that differed.

A large laboratory, filled with scientists and huge capsule like holding cells, each one with a different sort of creature in it. Strangest and scariest of all of them was a Deathclaw that they had. It must have taken a whole team of Enclave soldiers to take it down, but it seemed like they had the amount of men to take anything down.

So if they had an army to fight for them, and for the 'American People', why hadn't they tried to make the Capitol Wasteland a safer place? Why hadn't they cleared the Deathclaws out of the Old Olney? Why hadn't they cleared out every raider and slaver infested hole they could find?

Why had they waited for Project Purity to start up again before deciding to take it over? At least with the Brotherhood he could say that they were constantly at war with the super-mutants of downtown DC. They made it safer for everyone, even if 'everyone' included those that the Brotherhood didn't take too kindly to, like ghouls.

Had they just been sitting here with their thumbs up their asses? He'd been around, mostly doing dirty work for Tenpenny, but he'd never seen an Enclave Soldier until their attack on the Jefferson Memorial. The radio station that their 'President' hosted had been on the air for _years_ though, which meant that they had to have been here the entire time.

He was going to have a few choice words for 'President' Eden when they did finally meet. It would be soon though, because they moved out of the laboratory and into a war room, complete with a large map. He took a glance at it before he was led along by H8-93 into the next room.

Then there were guards, and they both walked past with nothing to say to them. Then about a million stairs, and they came up to a computer. He wondered where Eden was, had he stepped out and away from his computer for a short second? Had he needed to pee?

Then his voice came from the computer, “Face to face at last.”

He huffed, he'd gone all this way for nothing, “Then why aren't we face to face? Why speak to me through a monitor?”

H8-93 leaned over to him, “ _This is_ the President.”

“She is quite right,” The computer responded, “I am right here before you. I am the greatest secret the Government has kept, as only Colonel Autumn has been allowed into this room to see me... until you, of course. I thought there would be some things that we should discuss.”

“Like what?”

“From my many records, I have heard that you are a mercenary, a man whose skill set would be most advantageous for this government as we begin to retake what is rightfully ours. Your fathers' work is especially unique in that it can help us to cleanse away the mutagens that plague this land.”

He narrowed his eyes, the only person he'd ever heard use the word 'cleanse' was Tenpenny when talking about the ghouls who kept bothering him for entrance. If only those poor suckers knew how Tenpenny thought about them, maybe they would run as far as they could. If they were smart, that was.

“What do you mean by mutagens?”

“Those who have been mutated by this new world... Super-mutants, ghouls, all manner of mutated beasts...”

Super-mutants he wouldn't mind killing, and he wiped out feral ghouls in droves, but _only_ the feral ones. And if they destroyed every animal that had ever mutated? For many, that would destroy their only food source.

“Why is it you think this is a good idea?” He asked the computer, “How do you know what is best for humanity when you aren't human yourself?”

“Nonsense, I am infallible.”

“What?”

“I am infallible,” Eden repeated.

“What makes _you_ infallible?”

“Because I have been programmed to be as such.”

It was like any interaction with his daughter, she would always demand to have a sweet roll because she was good, even if she wasn't. When asked what she'd been done to be good, she would just say that she was. The 'President' had as much as a four-year-old.

“Isn't that a bit circular? You're infallible because you've been programmed to be infallible?”

It was silent in the room for a long moment, then “Error. Internal Logic Error Detected. Rebooting... Processing...”

“I... there is something wrong... I don't know...”

“Shut yourself down,” He replied in his best ' _I'm-Dad-and-you're-in-trouble-so-you-better-get-in-your-room_ ' voice, hoping that it would work. He was just a _computer_ , so something like this would be harmless and could serve as a decent distraction...

“Processing Directive. Accepted. Now engaging in Raven Rock self-destruct.”

Maybe not as harmless as he thought, “WHAT?”

“Engaging protocols... Evacuate immediately.”

“Why would you self-destruct the entire base?! Who the _fuck_ programmed you to do _that?!_ ” He screamed, but the computer screen did not respond to him anymore. He turned to H8-93, “We need to get out of here.”

She looked at a loss, but snapped out of it at the tone of his voice, and nodded. She led him through the nearest door, one that they hadn't come from. He hoped that she knew the quickest way out of this place.

In fact, she _did_ know the shortest route out, and a huge blast door swung open for them, and they were greeted by the sound of bullets. He dashed ahead to the overlook, and down below them was Fawkes fighting off several Enclave Soldiers with a mini-gun that he must've stolen from them.

Vertibirds flew over their heads, heading south, and he knew they were going to the Memorial. Just as the last one began to hover over them, a blast rocked him and threw him to the ground. The entire complex was exploding behind them, the heavy blast door that he and H8-93 had gone through rocketed off its' hinges and over their heads, smashing into a boulder and doing more damage to the boulder than to the door.

“ _Holy shit_ ,” Was all he could say in response. Debris continued to rain from the sky, but the last vertibird continued to hover over Fawkes.

It spun around, and he saw that Cross was at the controls, waiting for Fawkes to finish off the last of his victims, which was easy considering the fact that he had the large mini-gun. He jumped up from his position and slid down the rocky slope and down to where the super-mutant was, awaiting his arrival amongst the dead.

“My friend,” He greeted simply, “Friend Cross has said that once we retrieve you, we are to go to the Citadel. At least, you and Friend Cross will be going to the Citadel, I will be dropped off somewhere, hopefully where I am able to kill more of these pathetic enemies.”

“Well, that's good. Let's go then.”

He remembered H8-93, and turned to her. The synth had come up to stand next to him, “Are you coming?”

She shook her head, “No. I will go attend to Miss Rhodes.”

H8-93 turned and began to walk away, the ruins of Raven Rock were still aflame, “You need a better name!” He shouted after her.

She turned, a puzzled expression on her face.

“Nobody trusts synths, so you need a name!”

“What would my name be?”

He thought about it, but he didn't have a lot of time to think, “Heather.”

She nodded, then turned again to take her leave.

With Fawkes' help, he hopped up into the body of the vertibird, followed by the giant super-mutant. They took to the skies, and he _really_ hoped that he wouldn't throw up.

He was wrong to hope, though, but it wasn't like he had much to throw up. He hadn't had a decent meal in what felt like years, so all that came up was stomach acid that burned his throat. When he was done dry heaving, he noted that they were fast approaching the Citadel, currently flying over the ruins of Megaton.

“I was hoping we could catch up to the other vertibirds,” Cross said, when she noticed that he was feeling well enough to sit up, “Maybe take one of them out, but it seems we weren't fast enough.”

Fawkes was let out somewhere in some ruins, with the instructions not to be seen by any Brotherhood member, then they took to the skies again. They had passed the rest of the way quickly, and landed just outside the Citadel with a shudder, some of the Brotherhood coming out with their guns drawn to see who came out of the vertibird.

He decided that it was better to follow Cross in this instant, and let her disembark first, and he followed as she strolled through the power-armored soldiers on her way into the fortress. She wasted no time in demanding directions to Elder Lyons, and he continued to follow her to some sort of lab.

Sarah was already there, having beaten them back by at least a couple of hours, and had explained everything to her father. She was surprised and relieved to see both of them, and it was just then that he wondered why Cross and Sarah hadn't been together. There wasn't much time for that though.

“My daughter has told me everything... and it seems as though we need to act quickly in order to secure the memorial.”

He had a bad feeling about what was going to happen.

 

 

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-November 18th, 2277-_

 

She was woken up by Watson, who woke them all up before dawn. It was better this way, as they could use the early morning cover of darkness if they needed it. And it would be much quicker to get down to Big Town the sooner they had left.

She was also glad to be awake, after she'd had a strange dream. Images she didn't understand, but always there was someone who was watching her.

They all ate a small breakfast, all except for Bumble, who continued to sleep. The rest of them packed up and set off from Germantown, happy to be leaving the smell of old blood and rotten gore behind them. Watson lead the way for a little while, then scouted ahead, making sure that the way was clear for them.

Nothing else was up at this time of day though, despite the fog having been peeled back, so there was little resistance.

They came upon Big Town with a warm welcome, Red and Shorty had told everyone in the town of their miraculous rescue from the jaws of death itself, and the extra food definitely helped. All the teens were small and skinny and even a little mangy looking, but they cleared out a house for them to set up in, and Red was happy to have a real doctor to help her in her own little clinic.

Walter was now the only one with the technical knowledge of machinery, and went to take a look at their water processor, dragging one of the other unfortunate teens along with him so that he'd have extra hands to help with the work.

Once everyone was settled though, she felt an itch. Out there in the wastes was her brother and the Little Lamplight scavenger team by themselves. She didn't feel as worried, she knew they would at least be able to feed themselves.

But what about Stockholm and the other children? And what was Ella doing right now? Was she the safest out of all of them, or in even more danger?

She stood by the bridge, looking to the north way that they had come from, and wondered if everyone was all right. She must've stood there for a long while, because Watson came up to stand next to her.

“Where do you think they are?” Watson asked, seemingly having read her mind.

She shrugged, “Butch and the scav team could be anywhere... But when Stockholm went after the kids, they were going more north while we went west. They could still be going that way.”

“They could have doubled back.”

“Maybe,” She hummed, “But how would they know where to go?”

Watson shrugged, “Maybe we can go find them?”

There was really only two options, staying here and waiting for them to possibly show up, or go out and maybe never find them. It was an easy choice to make.

“Pack a couple of bags, make it light.”

Watson nodded, and left her by herself. When the teen arrived back a few minutes later, it was with three bags, and Gob.

“I want to go, too,” Gob said to her.

“Why?”

“You've done so much for us already. You didn't have to take us in after Megaton was destroyed, and you didn't have to feed us equal to you. You didn't have to save the slaves of Paradise Falls, or those two kids in Germantown,” He shrugged, “I feel useless. I left the Underworld to find my fortune, but I ended up in a bar and owing Moriarty a never decreasing amount of money. No matter how hard I worked, I could never pay off that debt. Well, you and Ella have given me a lot, a new chance to do things right. I have to pay the debt to you.”

“Don't feel obligated. We're probably just so nice because we're naïve vault children.”

“Naïve vault children who have saved lives, which is more than most people out here can say.”

She sighed and just decided to take his help, “Okay. We're going to be looking for Stockholm and the kids. If we find Butch and the scav team, that'll be a plus, but they're not our priority at the moment.”

“Why not?”

“They're probably eating better than all of the rest of us combined,” She replied, “So we're going back the way we came, and we'll skirt around the cliffs near Minefield and try to pick up their trail. It can't be that hard to find with all of this snow.”

“Sure.”

“And if we run into Enclave soldiers, then do your best to hide near where you are. Don't get into a firefight with them unless you know you can win, and if you can safely run, _do it_. You don't want to end up like Bronson. And if one of us falls, don't be a hero.”

Gob visibly gulped, but said nothing. Watson was equally quiet. They left over the bridge and back towards Germantown, but this time they made great time in their traveling, with only having three of them and being able to go at an acceptable speed.

Germantown was as quiet as they left it, and they waited there a few moments, looking ahead to see if there were any soldiers that were following the tracks they had left the night before. There were none as far as they could see, so they continued on, following the trail they had left behind, all the way back to the north of the cliffs.

They rounded the cliffs and went to the very edge, for a short rest and to see what the Enclave soldiers were doing in Minefield or if they had moved on already.

They had not.

Most of them were just standing around, and at least two of them were kicking through the blackened timbers and wreckage of what had once been their house.

They weren't at all interested in following them, so why had they attacked in the first place? Maybe just because they could.

The ground shook, she didn't know what happened, but it must've been far away from them, so she wasn't as worried about it. The three of them began to shuffle away from the cliffs' edge, when she heard two vertibirds. They passed them over a ways to the west, and continued south. They had to be going to the Memorial, because where else would they be going?

It passed through her mind that maybe the shaking of the ground they felt had been something to do with the Enclave base. Maybe Ella and Charon had taken it over, and the Enclave were fleeing, tail between their legs?

A vertibird straggler followed after the others a minute or two later.

The soldiers below them started to rally, and were preparing to move south. They were going down to the Memorial as well. Something _must_ be happening, and she didn't like what it could mean.

From the information that Sarah had shared the Brotherhood was going to fight them, and if the Enclave got reinforcements to attack the Brotherhood from behind? It could spell disaster.

“We have to stop them,” The words fell from her mouth quietly, but the weight of them immediately fell unto Watson and Gob.

“What?”

“We have to stop them. If they can get down to the Memorial, and the Brotherhood is already fighting through their defenses, they could ambush them. Pen them in.”

“We want the Brotherhood to have the Memorial... right?”

She nodded, “It's got a mega purifier in it. It can purify hundreds of gallons of water at a time.”

“Wouldn't that be good no matter who has the purifier?”

She hummed, “But why does the Enclave want it so badly? It can't just be because they want all the credit, everyone knows who built it, Three Dog has been ranting about it since he found out about the thing. So what other reason could they have to want the purifier to themselves?”

Watson shrugged.

Gob gave a suggestion, “They could be poisoning the water.”

“How would that benefit the Enclave though?” Watson asked.

“I don't know. But we don't know anything about the Enclave, they could have a reason to do it that we don't know about.”

“So... we're going to stop a bunch of 'em in power-armor?”

She thought a moment, thinking about how they could go about it without getting themselves killed. Then she thought back to the first time that she and Ella had come to Minefield.

“Do you see that car down there? The one they're standing near?”

“Yeah.”

“Aim for that,” She said as she pulled a hunting rifle off of her back. Gob had one like hers, and Watson had one that looked homemade and taped together. The three of them laid side by side next to the cliff and aimed.

After a moment or two, she breathed out, “Fire.”

They did. Nothing hit the car, but the Enclave soldiers were made aware of their presence.

“Keep firing,” The second round of bullets she thought hit the car, but she couldn't be sure. The soldiers were beginning to fire wildly up at them, but they were such small targets to them that their shots only hit the cliff or went above them.

The third round of bullets definitely hit the car, and it began to flame up. She couldn't be sure if it was from what they had just fired, or the ones before, but at least the job had gotten done. It was soon after that the car exploded, bursting around the Enclave soldiers like a miniature nuclear blast, flame and shrapnel eating them up.

She couldn't see how many had died, but what looked like five of them began to flee on foot to the south. They wouldn't be able to take them out from as far away as they were, none of them were as good at sniping as Ella was.

They let the dust cloud clear out, and made sure that the few Enclave soldiers that had began to run were far enough away that they probably wouldn't be turning back around for another attack before they made their way around the water tower and down the path into Minefield.

Before them were the bodies of _seven_ Enclave soldiers, all of them decked out in power-armor, and armed to the teeth. The others, in their haste, had left a large trunk full of provisions, military MREs that existed from even before the war.

“ _Jesus,_ ” Gob sighed as they looked through their new gains. The trunk had been _packed_ , it could feed Big Town and all of its new inhabitants as well as those who had split off from the group all through Winter.

She realized that Winter hadn't even started yet, they were technically still in Autumn. That was a thought she wished she hadn't realized.

“How are we even going to carry all of this stuff back with us?” Watson asked.

Cassidy hummed, “There's got to be some sort of switch that disengages the power-armor.”

“You want to _wear_ it?”

She shrugged, “Why not?”

“What if someone thinks we're Enclave?”

That was a real problem, “I dunno, do we have any paint?”

Watson looked at her skeptically, but then realization dawned on them and they ran throughout Minefield, saying something about having seen a paint gun somewhere and maybe there was some paint nearby it. While the teen was gone, she and Gob looked through the power-armor to see if there was a switch that could get the armor off of the dead men.

It turned out there was an emergency switch in the back, but even though they had opened it up, they still had to pull out the man who was in it and then tip up the armor so it was standing so they could step into it. That alone was probably the heaviest thing she'd ever had to lift, but they managed it together.

“Who goes first?”

Gob shook his head, she huffed at him slightly and stepped into the armor. The experience left her was immediately disoriented, and it took a few minutes to adjust to being inside the suit. Once she felt more comfortable though, it was easy to heave up the next power-armor to a standing position, and disengaging it so the next soldier was easily pulled out. She did this with all seven of the soldiers before figuring out how to disengage from the power-armor on the inside and doing so. Once all that was done, her old habits kicked and and she began to take all of their boots and gloves.

Watson came back with the paint and paint gun, because they didn't have anything they could use as a brush.

“So... there's red and there's blue.”

She hummed, “Why not purple?”

Watson shrugged, “How do you make purple?”

“You mix the two.”

“Okay,” Watson went about mixing the two paints, getting some on the street and getting some on their clothes. While they were doing that, Gob convinced her to take the fatigues that the soldiers were wearing as well. The extra clothes would be much better to have, and she could repair what holes from shrapnel and clean out the blood as best as she could. No one would mind anyways.

So they had a pile of bodies that they'd laid out on the side, leaving them mostly naked and in the snow, their packs were now full, they had too many power-armor to deal with, and the huge steamer trunk full of food.

And still they hadn't found anyone, but at least they had gotten their revenge on the Enclave soldiers who had taken their home from them.

“I think I've got it,” Watson said after filling up the paint gun with all of the purple paint, “I don't think I've ever seen the color purple before... looks a little like mutfruit...”

“Lucky for you that you're seeing it now,” Cassidy smiled back, “So, how are we going to paint them?”

“How?” Gob asked, “With... the paint gun?”

“No, I mean should we paint the entire thing purple?”

Watson shrugged, “Maybe just an emblem on the front and back? It would be easy to identify without painting the whole thing.”

“What kind of emblem then?” She asked, but she was already thinking about it as well, hoping that something good came up. This wasn't like the Tunnel Snakes, which they had the name of well in advance of the symbol they'd made for their jackets. They just needed something to tell them apart, so people didn't shoot them thinking they were Enclave.

The weird dream she had this morning, the feeling of always being watched. It was an uneasy feeling, but maybe...

“Maybe an eye?”

“An eye?”

She shrugged, “Just a suggestion. It would be easy to paint onto it.”

“Sure,” Neither of them had a problem with it, so they began to paint the purple emblem onto the chest pieces.

A sharp whistle caught their attention, and she turned in the direction of it to the cliffs. Worried for a second that they had been ambushed just as they had ambushed the Enclave, she instinctively reached for her weapon, but it stayed in its' holster when she saw that it was Stockholm and the children of Little Lamplight.

She waved them down, and they followed the trail that they had taken around the water tower and down from the east side of Minefield. Stockholm told them that they had ducked down into a barn that was past the power station, and then came back towards Minefield in the morning, looking for their tracks, until they had heard the explosion from the car they'd blown up. It was a good thing that they had come to see what had exactly happened.

“Where's Mayor Shithead?” Watson asked, looking over the gathering that was now devoid of the cussing mayor of Little Lamplight.

“He took off,” Stockholm replied, “The others wanted to come back, he didn't, so he just left. We all tried to get him to come, but he wouldn't.”

She sighed, and wished luck to the kid, but they had more to deal with right now, namely the people that he'd left behind. They showed off the new food, passed around the new guns to those of the children who knew how to shoot, and began to prepare to leave.

They could only take five of the seven of the power-armors. It was herself, Stockholm, and Gob, and Watson and Joseph were just barely tall enough to get into the things. They could come back for the others later.

It was decided to ditch the helmets, they were the most telling that it was Enclave armor, and they didn't want to give anyone _any_ reason to shoot at them. At least with the rest, some people who hadn't seen either Enclave or Brotherhood armors wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

With that, they left back in the direction of Big Town.

 

 

_Butch DeLoria_

_-November 18th, 2277-_

 

As dawn was creeping up, he switched with Squirrel, who took watch and left him with only an hour to get some sleep. He felt good after the hour though, better than any other time that he'd woken up from sleep. It could have just been the lack of sleep, or the cold. They ate half of one of the other molerats, the guts and things were fried over the fire and given to the dogs and to little Dorrie. Slowly but surely, Penny was beginning to like the little molerat baby. The other two still had reservations about raising a molerat.

After breakfast, they looked off into the distance of Minefield, their home that had been burned down now didn't even exist, and Sammy could still see some of the Enclave soldiers standing around. What they should do was to keep going south until they found some shelter, and to find some way to gear themselves up better.

He didn't know when or if he would see Cassidy again, but he knew he didn't want to just be some dumb waster that was pushed around by a bunch of dick-waggling morons in power-armor.

They scouted ahead by him standing on the tallest part of the south wall of the Junkyard and having Squirrel, who was the tallest and had the best balance of the three kids, stand on his shoulders with a scoped rifle.

“East is some type of military place,” Squirrel said, “An old base or something, but it looks like it's occupied.”

“Anything else?”

“There's some buildings way farther south, but I can't tell if they're occupied or not. I'm just going to take a guess and say that they are. I can't really see anything to the west, if there is anything at all. There's too many rocks and shit.”

Butch helped him down off of his shoulders, and they convened to wonder at what they should do.

“An old base is bad news,” Squirrel started, “Most likely raiders are holed up in it, and that usually means that they've got all the good stuff from it.”

“What about the other place?” Sammy asked.

Squirrel shrugged, “I dunno, it was too far to see. But I'd bet it's more'n likely to have raiders there too.”

“Then shouldn't we get closer and take a look?” He asked.

“And if it is? We won't have anywhere else to go.”

“We don't have anywhere to go right now,” He pointed out, “If it sucks, then we could probably come back.”

“What about the Enclave?” Penny asked.

“They haven't come to get us yet, have they?” He shook his head, “I just don't think they want to bother.”

The children thought that over, and agreed. He would much rather go take a look at the old military base, but he'd take what he could get at this point. Maybe if they started to travel around it, they could get close enough for him to ask Squirrel to make another assessment on the place. They needed something, and a military base seemed like it would be a good place to get more than enough.

So they began to walk, Squirrel took point, watching the path ahead for any trouble, then Sammy, Penny, the dogs, and then himself. He kept a check on the trail behind them, making sure nobody used their own tracks to ambush them.

There was no one out, theirs were the only tracks in the snow. It seemed that no one wanted to be out in this weather, and he couldn't fault anyone for that. If he could, he'd still be warm in the house in Minefield.

When they got far enough, they made the 'Squirrel Tower' again, and he looked down to the area they were approaching to check. That place was also occupied, but he asked him to check on the military base again.

He grumbled, but checked up on the base, “Still has shit tons of people there.”

“Definitely raiders?”

“ _Definitely._ ”

“And nothing we can do about it?”

“We could leave 'em alone,” Squirrel sighed.

The earth shook beneath their feet, Squirrel hopped down from his shoulders and they dropped to the ground, laying flat, in case something bad was happening close by. They stayed there for awhile, but the sound of vertibirds drew his eyes up from the snowy ground they'd thrown themselves upon. Two flew towards the south, but the vertibirds were too west to fly overhead them. Another one flew in the same direction a few minutes later. They sat up, but didn't move, unsure of what to do.

At least, he was unsure of what to do, they were lost, and they were without shelter. He was sure they were going to run out of bullets for their guns sooner rather than later. An explosion came from the north, but it was far off, they could see the smoke rise from it.

It had come from Minefield, and he assumed it was just from the rest of the Enclave soldiers decimating the rest of the town so that no one else could stay there.

They began to stand, dusting off the snow that stuck to them, and unbelievably, he spotted five Enclave soldiers hoofing it south. Only two of them were in power-armor, the other ones would be too easy to take out.

He smiled to himself, “You guys wanna get some revenge for Pete and Minefield?”

The three of them looked down to where the Enclave were stopping to take a breath, frowns crossed all three of their faces.

“Let's fuck 'em up,” Sammy said. Squirrel led the way towards them, they made sure they used the terrain to their advantage and stayed out of the soldiers' sight.

Making sure they had the high ground, they positioned themselves a little bit apart from each other, and took aim down onto the men who had their weapons holstered or pointed away from where they were hiding.

On Squirrels' signal, they began to fire. One of the soldiers went down immediately, as the others scrambled into fighting or hiding positions. At least one other of them was probably bleeding out behind a rock as his comrades returned fire.

They were well concealed though, and were able to take out two more as the soldiers ducked in and out of cover, one of the was one of the two in power-armor.

With only two left, they waited. The man in power-armor would pop out of his cover every so often to shoot in their vague direction, but would duck away before they could get any good shots on him.

It took a long while to end the stand-off, a lucky bullet ripped through his visor, and they were able to hop down to the scene below. The man who had been shot earlier had indeed bled out. The dogs sniffed through the bodies while they gathered up what they could. They didn't have much in supplies, but a few of them had their own packs with a few different essentials. Extra clothes, flip lighters, duct tape, a coffee pot in one of them, packs of cigarettes, tin plates, cups, bowls, and silverware, a hot plate, a small cooking pot, and a medium-sized med kit that had a little bit of everything, from bandages and scissors to stimpaks and med-x.

Boots would make Cassidy happy, if they ever found her. After gathering up what they could and then taking a break, Penny spoke up.

“Huh... I could'a swore that there were way more when they ambushed Minefield.”

They thought for a little while, then Squirrel said, “Yeah, like these guys were less than half.”

The gears were turning in his head, but he finally got there. He jumped up and began to pack everything away, shouldering two of the bags they'd pilfered from the soldiers as well as carrying one of the molerat bodies. The other three followed suit, and they ran north towards Minefield.

It took them awhile, considering they'd been kind of far from the town and they were impeded by the snow, but they got there, and found that there'd already been a battle there.

“Looks like they were ambushed,” Squirrel said, “Must've been the explosion we heard earlier.”

They looked through the power-armor that had been emptied of their occupants and set upright.

“Who would've been able to ambush them like this?” Sammy asked.

The most telling for Butch though was the bodies of the Enclave soldiers laid out and stripped of any usable clothing and armor.

“Must've been Cassidy,” He thought out loud, then tacked on, “And the others.”

“The tracks go out west,” Squirrel said, “Should we follow them then?”

Butch shrugged, “We might as well.”

 


	37. Purity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jamie joins the Brotherhood of Steel in their assault on the Enclave controlled Jefferson Memorial. In Big Town, Watson listens for a signal she hopes to never hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Gore (Non-descriptive/light description)
> 
> I legit almost posted Cassidy and Butchs' chapters from last chapter. Somehow when I was divvying up the chapters, those two made their way into two separate documents and labeled as their own chapter. That would have sucked!

_James Rhodes Jr._

_-November 18th, 2277-_

 

He was put into a suit of power-armor, Cross stayed close by his side, and Sarah was leading her own squad as they waited for a _giant fucking robot_ to initiate. Jamie had to wonder why the Brotherhood had waited until the very last second before whipping this super-weapon out.

“Try not to get stepped on,” Someone said, but he was too distracted watching Liberty Prime raise up on its' elevator through the opening roof to see who it was. Cross knew him well enough to pull him along to follow the Lyons' Pride squad. As a line of soldiers, they ascended the stairs and exited the building, marching through the citadel to the front gates. He still couldn't help but watch as Liberty Prime was lifted with a crane that towered over them. The sun was getting low in the sky, and he hoped that this would be done with quickly, as he didn't want to fight in the dark.

Then Liberty Prime hit the roof of the opposite side of the citadel, and he burst out laughing. He got an elbow in the side from a passing Brotherhood paladin, but it was so funny to see. He'd needed the little bit of levity, as he'd been sweating in thought of the upcoming fight that would surely take place since before Cross had even landed the stolen vertibird.

More troops of Brotherhood soldiers convened on their position as they stood at the gateway out of the Citadel. It opened slowly, creaking as the massive gate was fully raised. The screeching made his teeth clench in pain. He didn't know if his jaw clenching was better or worse than his teeth chattering in the cold.

He kept up with Cross as best he could, but the other Brotherhood paladins were much more comfortable and better trained in their power-armor, leaving him behind as they all surged forward. Liberty Prime stepped forward, each time its' massive foot descended upon the earth, it jolted him up a little more.

Already he could hear soldiers from the other side screaming. He was pretty sure he even made out someone yell 'Holy fucking shit, look at that big fucking robot!'

Jamie was glad to be _behind_ the robot, especially after it started to swat vertibirds out of the sky like they were nothing. After a few minutes of pressing forward with the Sarah and her Lyons' Pryde manning the front lines, he was also glad to not have even been _close_ to Liberty Prime.

He and Cross had come up on the body of an Enclave soldier near the end of the bridge they had traveled upon for a short while, the lower half of his body wasn't even discernible from where Liberty Prime had stepped on him. Unbelievably, he hadn't died right away, his head was craned up, looking at where the bottom half of his body used to have been with his eyes wide and his mouth gaping.

Paladins rushed past him, not even a bit of hesitation in their steps as they passed the man who was still alive.

He knelt down to him, “Don't look, Don't look.”

The soldier turned his attention to Jamie, his mouth moved but he couldn't make a sound from it. The man was turning purple and struggling to breath, Jamie looked down and found out why. His insides, including his lungs, had begun to slip down past his rib cage.

He took out his pistol, looked back up to the man, “I'm sorry.”

 

Cross was still waiting for him when he finally stood from the man. They were the only two paladins left in that particular section of road, all of the others had moved on into the city, he could hear the gunfight as Liberty Prime smashed clumsily into the buildings around it.

The two of them jogged in silence side-by-side until they were able to catch up to the rest of the Brotherhood forces. With the help of Liberty Prime, the Lyons' Pride and the other squads of paladins had already pushed through part of the city, leaving nothing but the dead behind.

They had lost a portion of paladins, so much so that Jamie and Cross had to begin firing, since they were no longer far enough behind to not even be able to see any of the action. The Enclave didn't stand a chance, especially not against a giant robot.

He didn't keep track of who he had killed. He wasn't even sure that he'd even landed any fatal shots that had been fired. But they still had to press forward.

His stomach churned. He wished that he had been able to eat before they had left, but on the other hand, he probably would have lost it already. Neither option sounded too good though. The last thing he'd had to eat was the piece of whatever it was that H8-93 – Heather – had snuck to him two days ago. He was running on nothing but adrenaline.

Liberty Prime, the Lyons' Pride, the other Brotherhood Paladins, Cross, and himself began to cross the bridge that led up to the Jefferson Memorial. The energy shield that the Enclave had been using to keep the Brotherhood out was smashed down by Liberty Prime, the force of it knocked him off of his feet and onto his stomach, also knocking the wind out of him.

As he coughed, Cross helped him up to his feet, just as Liberty Prime began to shut down. The remaining vertibirds took to the skies and evacuated north as quickly as they could.

There was still a considerable amount of Enclave forces, and they began to fight with desperate fervor now that the Brotherhoods' super-weapon had been put out of commission.

Sarah seemed to appear out of nowhere in the chaos, “Jamie, come with the Pride, lets' sweep the interior.”

He followed her, and Cross followed him, as they began to dash across the battlefield and to the door that led down into the bowels of the memorial. Down the narrow hallway they went, and rounding the corner, there were already Enclave soldiers in full power-armor waiting for them.

“Open fire!” Sarah called, a rush of bullets were exchanged as he ducked for cover.

Popping out when he could, he fired blindly into them, but there were so many that it would have actually been difficult to _not_ hit them. Even though he did, it was difficult to kill them though, because of the power-armor that they all wore. The Lyons' Pride pushed them back, the soldiers were retreating into the building to get better vantage points, and the paladins were able to take better cover.

He noticed, all at once, that as they had taken up in the entrance of the next room, there were no soldiers guarding the doorway to the purifier. He made a mad dash towards it, Cross called for him to come back, but a hail of new bullets that attempted to catch him as he ran across the room kept her firmly in her cover.

Jamie shouldered the door open, stumbling slightly as it gave way easily, and made his way into the room. It was just him, Colonel Autumn, and Charon.

A surprised look crossed the Colonels' face, “You?” Then he scoffed, “I had heard about what had happened from my men, how was it that you were able to destroy the entirety of Raven Rock?”

“Well,” He shrugged, “You probably should've programmed that 'President' of yours to deal with circular logic. Every parent whose been around for the terrible twos knows _that_.”

Colonel Autumn scowled and glowered at him, “There's nothing to stop me from killing you this time.”

The Colonel had pulled his gun, and by pure instinct he drew his as well and three shots deafened the room.

Jamie was thrown onto his back, and stayed there for a little while, trying to figure out what had just happened. When he had heaved himself up, he saw that Colonel Autumn laid dead, half of his face had been blown off. He also noted that a shotgun blast had dented his chestplate.

He stood and went over, Colonel Autumn was dead at his feet. Jamie let a sigh of relief as he watched Charon relax his grip on his trusty shotgun. He looked uncomfortable in that monkey outfit the Enclave had forced him to wear.

With the sigh that he gave though, his knees buckled under him and he quickly maneuvered into sitting on the bottom step in the rotunda.

“You have to take the contract,” Charon told him, his voice was monotone and lifeless.

He took a breath, then a second one, and got himself back to his feet. He walked – more like waddled – over to Autumn's corpse and rifled through his jacket, ripping the piece of paper that was the contract from his inside pocket.

Jamie took a few moments to breath while hunched over, with his hands on his knees, then straightened and approached Charon. He held out the contract.

“You cannot give it to me. I cannot own-”

“I'm not giving it to you, I'm giving you an order,” He told Charon. He was slowly but surely regaining his breath from his mad sprint to the rotunda, “You take the contract, and you find Ella, and you give it back to her.”

Charons' face was steel, but he could see the pain that crossed through his eyes, he seemed at a loss for words, and before he could stumble over some, Jamie continued.

“She's alive. I _know_ she's alive. I saw her, that synth woman, she took her away, and told her that she would live. She said something about _treeminders_...”

“I watched her get shot down,” Charon replied, low but firm, “She couldn't have survived it.”

“Well, here's the thing... We Rhodes, we're stubborn motherfuckers. She's out there. Go find her.”

He shoved the contract into Charons' hand, and the tall ghoul looked down at it in a mixture of amazement and betrayal. If he'd been stuck with something like that, he'd feel betrayed by a piece of paper too.

“It's an order. Find Ella and give her the contract,” He used his firmest voice.

Charon nodded once, still looking down at the contract, then he tucked it away into one of the many pockets his fatigues had. He looked up at him, gave him a proper nod, then he turned and left the rotunda.

Jamie sat back down onto the last step, tired and wanting a nice hot bath and a strong drink. It was just his luck that at that moment he heard Madison Li's voice over the intercom system, trying to get a hold of anyone who would listen. He heaved himself back up and climbed the stairs, his legs felt as though they were made of lead. He would have some serious cramps in the morning.

“What is it? Speak clearly,” He said into the speaker, then waited for Dr Li to explain the situation to him.

“ _The system is overloading, the purifier needs to be turned on to relieve the pressure that's building up_ ,” She explained through the speaker.

“And? So?” He asked, not really understanding why she was getting so upset over that.

“ _The room will fill with large amounts of radiation, just like... just like when James turned on the purifier,_ ” She said.

He forced himself to breathe out, and looked from the speaker to the control panel, “What would happen if the purifier didn't turn on?”

“ _The reactor core would self-destruct, and it would kill everyone in here, and the fallout would probably kill everyone in the radius of several miles, including Rivet City._ ”

He forced himself to breathe, and he turned away from the speaker. He stepped into the chamber, the doors slid behind him and locked. The speaker crackled behind him, but he couldn't make out what Dr Li was saying.

He typed in the numbers, banging was heard behind him, and he looked to see Sarah and Cross at the door, yelling and hitting the door, trying to get in. Radiation ripped through it with enough force to knock him to the ground, the heat of it warmed him. It wasn't like a searing heat of an energy blast or a sunburn or working for too long in a small space, but it went through his body like a fever. All of him was just _too_ warm. He should've died instantly, but he hadn't.

Then he fell into darkness.

 

 

_Holly Watson_

_-November 18th, 2277-_

 

The sun was setting, and she and Cassidy sat on the roof of one of the old houses of Big Town, watching it. They'd cleared the snow away so that they could sit without their pants getting wet, and they had a radio between them, set to Galaxy News. Three Dog was busy celebrating, for the DJ it meant drinking, playing all his favorites, and every break he'd proclaim the same thing.

“ _The Brotherhood of Steel has won a major victory in the good fight,_ ” He would say, “ _With the Enclave defeated, and the purifier up and running, the Capitol Wasteland is just a little bit safer tonight!_ ”

Cassidy passed her a Nuka Cola.

“ _With Project Purity up and running, that means that there is clean drinking water! I have yet to hear anything from the Brotherhood on how they will distribute this water, but I will update you, my loyal listeners, as I find out myself! More to come!_ ”

 _Fox Boogie_ began to play.

Through the fading light, there came a clanking sound, she and Cassidy looked out past the little bridge that led to Big Town, seeing someone in power-armor making their way over. Not just any power-armor, it had been one of the ones that she had painted earlier that day.

Most telling of who was inside the giant tin can, was the fact that he had three children hanging off of him, two dogs following behind, and two molerats strapped to him.

Cassidy slid down the roof, turned, gripped the edge, and let herself hang down at full length before releasing her hold and dropping to the ground. The twins greeted each other with smiles and laughs, and the scout team and the dogs rushed into Big Town towards the house that Cassidy had pointed out to them to be where they were all staying.

After helping Butch disengage from the armor, she turned back upwards, “You coming down?” She yelled up.

“No, I'll take watch,” She replied.

Cassidy nodded, “I'll bring you up some dinner when it's finished.”

She nodded in agreement, and the twins disappeared into the house. _Fox Boogie_ ended, and Three Dog came back on the air to give the good news again. He wasn't going to give any new information, there was no way that he'd have much else to say after only one song, so she switched the radio over until she found the station she was looking for.

It was static. Could the Enclave really have been defeated? Up until recently, she hadn't even believed that the Enclave was even real. It was just something you told children at night to make them behave themselves.

She sat like that on the roof for more than an hour, listening to static and taking small sips of Nuka-Cola.

It was probably past ten or eleven when the static cut out.

She held her breath.

 

A shaky voice came through the radio, not quite confident in what he had to say, “ _Good Evening, Capitol. This is the new President of the United States, and Commander-In-Chief of the Enclave Army, Richard Grant Lance. To our dedicated followers, there is some terrible news in that our own military was defeated on our own soil by our terrible enemy, the Brotherhood of Steel. But fear not, true believers, I and the rest of the Enclave Army will temporarily retreat, recruit, and train until we can stand against these monsters. We will return, and we will take back the Capitol of the Free World,_ ” His voice cut out to static.

She sighed, downed her Nuka Cola, then dropped it, let it roll off of the roof, and smash into the ground below.

The door opened, Cassidys' face looked up at her and was only perceptible because of the light coming from inside the house.

Holly turned off the radio, “Don't worry. I'm coming down.”

 


	38. Two Weeks Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks after the attack on Jefferson Memorial, Cross wakes up.

_Cross_

_-December 2nd, 2277-_

 

She woke up. This wasn't the first time that her internal systems had been messed up and had knocked her out to reset, but she hated the feeling, and twice in a month was far too much. Cross sat up slowly and let her eyes adjust to the small amount of light in the room. In a bed nearby was Sarah, who was still unconscious.

She stood from the bed, finding that she was immediately light headed, and wondered just how long she'd been out for. Taking the IV out of her arm, she staggered to the door and opened up into the hallway of the medical wing in the Citadel.

A passing scribe scrambled away to call for a doctor, but as she continued to stand and walk around, the better she was at it.

The doctor was useless, too, all he did was complain that she was taking things too quickly and she needed time for her to adjust.

“How long have I been out?”

“T-two weeks,” The young scribe had stuttered from behind the doctor.

Two weeks had been the longest that she'd ever gone without her internal systems forcibly waking her up, it was troubling what that implication could be. But also, it could have been an effect from it happening twice in such a short amount of time.

She wasn't worried about Sarah, she was still in her bed in the room behind her, but - “Where's Jamie?”

It was the doctors' turn to stutter, “I'm sorry, Cross. H-he didn't make it,” The doctor gave her a look, and then went away to check in on Sarah, she could be waking up soon if Cross was up and about.

A weight in her stomach appeared. She had loved that boy, loved him as though he were her own flesh and blood.

“At least he died a hero,” She sighed to herself, “It may not have been what he had wanted, but at least he was one.”

She had expected the nervous scribe to reply to her with something along the lines of 'He was a good man,' or at least even a simple 'Yes', but all the scribe really did was become more nervous and shift from one foot to the next. That was what caught her attention and made her curious as to this strange behavior.

“What is it?”

“Uh... No... Elder Lyons told us not to say anything.”

She fully turned to the scribe, making sure that the scribe felt as tiny as she looked, “ _What is it?_ ”

The scribe began to sweat, “But... I'll get in trouble.”

“You're going to be in trouble right now,” She replied, “If you tell me, I won't tell anyone it was you.”

The scribes' bottom lip began to quiver, then relented in a whisper, “E-Elder Lyons h-h-had h-him e-ex- _executed_.”

The weight in her stomach increased, “What?”

The scribe nodded, “Th-that's all I r-really kno-ow.”

Cross suddenly felt empty. She pushed past the scribe, wandered around the halls until she figured out where it was that she was at exactly, and then making a bee-line to Owyn Lyons' office.

“You _executed_ him?” She shouted at she burst through the door. There were a number of other members there, a paladin, a couple scribes, and an initiate. Elder Lyons excused them, and the left, the last person out making sure the door was securely closed.

“ _Why?_ ” She asked him, “You _knew_ I cared for him like a son.”

“I know. Which is why it was _so hard_ for me to give the order,” He replied, “He was _suffering_ , it was all we could do to ease it.”

“ _Suffering?_ ” She gawped, “If he hadn't died from the radiation in that chamber, then that means that he was turning into a _ghoul_. It's a hard transition, but he _would_ have survived it.”

She began to pace up and down the office, her legs moving on their own, and it was better than jumping over the desk and strangling him.

“Yes, I know.”

“So you knew he was turning into a ghoul, and yet you had him killed _anyways_?”

“Better to die a human than to live as a _ghoul_.”

“Where is he?”

“He's gone, I thought you knew that.”

“His _body_.”

He sighed, as though he was about to lecture a ten-year-old, “They took him out by the river, next to the bridge. They'll do something with the body once the Memorial is more secured.”

She stared him down, her face and her eyes were probably blank, because he didn't seem to react to her. She turned to leave.

“When will you be ready to return to active duty?” He asked her, but she didn't answer, didn't even acknowledge that he had even spoke to her.

She moved quickly, getting to her private quarters and gathering up everything she could. She dressed in the only set of clothes that were not Brotherhood uniforms, and began to suit up in some combat armor that had been scavanged over the years.

With some supplies and some food, she shouldered the bag and left as quickly as she could with the small arsenal of weapons that she could fit in her holsters. Everybody was busy with work or training that they didn't mind her, and even the guards at the gate didn't bat an eyelash, as they were more worried about who was _coming in_ than those who were leaving.

The bridge was just a little ways away, and it took a little bit of time to find him in the snow that had fallen over his corpse.

He was pale, almost a strange blue-brown color, but the cold had kept him from deteriorating. He had died curled up on himself, the ghoulification was apparent. Cross hefted him up in her arms, and began to walk across the bridge with him, thinking about where it was that he should be buried.

Where he _should_ have been would be the Jefferson Memorial, he had grown up there, it had been his _home_ for such a long time, but it was now occupied by the Brotherhood that she had left behind. If they were going to bury him, they would've done it already. She could not bury him in downtown DC, there would be no space to, and it would be hell to try to dig back asphalt and concrete, no matter how old it was.

At the end of the bridge, she turned left, away from the Memorial, and northward up the river banks. She'd have to cross another bridge before she would be able to find land suitable enough to bury him, but she was going to take all of this one step at a time.

 

One lonely step at a time.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the last chapter in the first Arc, and the next chapter will be sort of the 'prologue' of the next Arc. :)


	39. Footprints in the Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After scouting, Watson comes back to Cassidy and Butch with some disturbing new information.

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-January 1st, 2278-_

 

She and Butch had stayed up all night to welcome in the New Year. It was an old world celebration that the dwellers of Vault 101 had kept up through two hundred years of living underground. There were drinks and snacks, of course not enough to take a chunk out of Big Towns' food supply, since they were the only ones celebrating.

They listened to a long block of songs, Three-Dog was probably asleep, and watched the clock on one of their pip-boys. They counted down to midnight, and each took a few shots of whiskey to celebrate.

After midnight though, Butch went to bed, as he was going to go hunting with the new scavenger team that had been formed. She continued to stay up, heading outside into the snow to keep Dusty, Big Towns' watchman, some company until Stockholm took over for him. Dusty wasn't much of a conversationalist, and kept his eyes strictly on the street outside of Big Town, but he seemed to appreciate the company whenever he got it.

She mostly waited for Watson to return, as the teen had been going out in various directions to scavenge, scout, and collect information wherever they could. Watson would pass off any information that was collected from the surrounding areas to the hunting team, wherever she saw tracks or possible locations of creature dens.

The skinny teens of Big Town had soon became well-fed teens of Big Town, and the skinny kids of Little Lamplight had become the well-fed kids of Big Town. Even with how good the Little Lamplight Scav Team had been, it hadn't helped that the areas surrounding the former child town had been picked clean and bare of most creatures, and that the team had been captured by slavers.

Now they all had a lot more to work with, as the buildings and hunting grounds were all much denser than they had available before. The hunting team of Big Town could now go and come back with fresh meat in just a day, whereas before the scavenger team of Little Lamplight were sometimes gone for even weeks on end.

An hour after she'd taken up the post with Dusty, Stockholm took over sleepily. They sat in companionable silence for hours and hours while on watch, until it was at the time when the sun began to lighten the faraway sky without it breaking over the mountains. It had to be six or seven in the morning, but they didn't have a clock with them.

The sign of morning also signaled something else, Stockholm turned to her, “What's for breakfast?”

The day before had brought them radscorpion eggs, which were the only things that the hunting team had brought back. They shared their harrowing tale of how they'd pissed off the radscorpions and led them away, while the rest of the team had gone in and stolen the eggs.

That's what was told to her, anyways.

“Eggs.”

Stockholm grumbled, but when the food had been cooked up and dispersed, he ate the eggs anyways. They had a small cooking group, it was just herself, Eclair from the Little Lamplight children, and Jeanette the former ghoul slave of Paradise Falls.

The sniper spotted Watson first, trudging along in the snow, weaving her way through the hills and empty houses as the scav team were making their preparations to leave. She hopped down from the guard perch and met the teen at the bridge.

“How was the night?”

“Nothing much,” Watson replied, “I went and checked out the molerat dens that they went through the other day, there's about four or five left. They should let them repopulate before they go off in that area again.”

“Anything else?”

The kid shifted from one foot to the other, “I found somethin', but I don't think you're going to like it.”

“What is it?”

Watson sighed, then pulled a piece of fabric from her pocket and handed it over. She looked at it, unbelieving. A blue and yellow scrap of cloth, ripped from a collar.

101

“Where did you find this?”

“I was heading back towards Springvale, to see if there was anything worth scavvin' or maybe even some hunting that could be done. There's usually a few radroaches hiding in ruined houses at least,” Watson said, “Well, then I came up on what might've been a camp, under the old overpass near there. It was empty and looked like a scuffle, so I thought maybe I could find some ammo or somethin' left behind, and I found that.”

She hummed, more to herself, and flipped the piece of scrap over in her hands a few times, “Go tell the scav team.”

Watson disappeared from her side, and she was left there to continue to contemplate the scrap of fabric. Her, Butchs', and Ellas' vault suits had all been destroyed, along with Megaton. They'd left them back at the house they'd had there, not thinking that what had been left behind would have gone up in nuclear fire. Dr Rhodes was dead, but then again they wouldn't know exactly where his vault suit was at, but she was fairly certain that it couldn't have been his.

That left the other residents of their vault. Why had they come to the surface? Surely they wouldn't have been trying to trade with anyone, because why would there have been a campsite? Had they evacuated for some reason?

Butch came up to fill Watsons' spot beside her.

“Watson tell you?”

“Yeah,” He sighed, “What do you want me to do about it?”

She shrugged, “It must've been an evacuation.”

“We could look into it,” He suggested, “If for nothing else than any supplies we can scavenge.”

“ _Butch._ ”

“Don't get all _uppity_. It's just that even with how good it is right now, we don't know how long it's going to last. Or if the weather'll change at any second. If the vault was evacuated, then most of 'em wouldn't have thought about how much food they'd need out here.”

“And if you find anyone?”

“Then we'll drag 'em back here and feed 'em,” He sighed, “They're all probably starvin'.”

“Guess we were the lucky ones?”

“Me luckier than you,” He shot back, “I got to come out after you an' Ella had already learned a bunch about survivin' out here. All I had to do the first couple'a months was follow one of you.”

“And learn how to shoot.”

“But at least I had Ella to help me practice.”

“Instead of having to learn it all the hard way!” She laughed at him.

“Yeah,” It got quiet for a short while, “You think she's still out there?”

Cassidy sighed, “I don't know. Sometimes I hope she is... sometimes I hope she isn't. All of this stuff going on, sometimes I wish we were back in the vault.”

“I know,” Butch replied, “Out here ain't like the vault.”

“Yeah,” She shifted her weight, handed over the piece of collar, “You go find 'em, all right?”

“Yeah. I will.”

 

Butch and the scav team stomped through the snow out of Big Town, he took that weird molerat he kept saying was a pet with him. Cassidy waited until she could no longer see them, and then turned in.

 

 

_Butch DeLoria_

_-January 1st, 2278-_

 

They had reached the school in Springvale before he had heard the clicking of his Pip-Boy in his bag and pulled the old thing out and turned it on.

“High levels of radiation,” He told the others, “ _Very_ high.”

“What's it from?” Penny looked around them.

“Must've been from Megaton,” He replied, “When it exploded.”

“I thought we were _all_ going to die that day,” Flash admitted, “Big flash of light, the ground shook for like – _ever!_ ”

“I guess that's what people had experienced when the bombs dropped,” He said, mostly to himself. _But bigger_.

“Should we head back?” Squirrel asked.

He hummed, “We got any protective gear?”

“Some masks, but it'll only keep the fallout from our lungs, not our skin,” Kimba replied, “What do we do?”

He looked up towards where he knew the Vault door was. It was too far away to try to make a run for it, and there wasn't a guarantee that the Vault was any safer, especially if the door was open. If it was, then all of the supplies down there would be irradiated and useless.

“We turn back, try to find that camp Watson was talkin' about. We'll see from there, I guess.”

They turned around, following their tracks back down to the dried up river bed, and began to walk west of there until they arrived at the bridge, now mostly rubble. The camp itself was at the top of the cliff, so they had to scrabble up the rocks to get to it. Dorrie climbed up the cliff better than some of the others, definitely better than he could have.

It was also empty. Watson had already taken whatever there was to take and all that was left were a few blankets that had more holes than blanket and the cold remains of a small campfire. Here they were protected from the snow by what was left of the bridge over their heads, so they stopped to take a short rest and have a shared lunch of cram. Dorrie ate half of his portion, then went about sniffing around the remains of the camp in search of more food.

“What do you think happened here?” Flash asked.

Many of them shrugged, but Squirrel replied, “Could've been that the fire alerted raiders or slavers. Could've been they didn't have a lookout.”

“Probably both,” Kimba added.

“Who would've been stupid enough to not post a lookout?” Sammy asked, using this time to check over his gun after he had wolfed down his portion of cram.

“They're from a Vault,” Butch sighed, _he_ wouldn't have thought to post a lookout straight out of the Vault, “Not used to having to worry about attackers in their sleep.”

Penny hummed, “Who'd think to post a lookout at this time of year anyways? No one likes going out in this stuff, not even raiders or slavers are out here.”

“Then why are _we_ out here?” Flash complained.

“Because we needed the food,” Squirrel replied to him, “Lotta shit happened right as winter started. And there's good pickin's around here, anyway.”

“Don't we have a good amount of food right now though? There's more back at Big Town than we've had the entire rest of the year combined.”

“We'll run out before Spring.”

“Can't we just go out hunting _when_ that happens?”

“If you didn't want to come hunting, Flash, then you didn't have to,” Kimba frowned at him.

Flash grumbled in response, “I didn't want laundry duty.”

“And God forbid that you be assigned to cooking.”

Butch wanted to get back to what it was they were supposed to be doing, “Which direction do you think they went?”

Penny circled around the camp, looking out into the snow, “Well, there's tracks from the east and the west. So I'd say west, since the Vault is east of here.”

Despite there having been fresh snow, it was still easy to pick out the tracks, as the blankets of snow dipped down towards where a path had been cut through. It was difficult to tell how long ago the smoothed-over tracks had been made, they'd had snow the day before yesterday. They could have even been older than that.

“What's to say they're even alive?” Sammy asked, finishing up with putting his gun back together.

“Raiders don't take prisoners,” Butch replied.

“And they usually target settlements. Slavers like to catch people out in the open,” Kimba replied, “Only reason anyone from Big Town got taken by Paradise Falls was because they would come in and sweep through right after super-mutant attacks.”

“Yeah, but Paradise Falls was the only place I knew of that took slaves in the Capital Wasteland,” Flash shrugged.

“We should see how far the tracks lead. We might not catch up to them, but we can pick up the trail later if we have to, and if there _are_ slavers coming to Springvale then either they're somewhat close-by, or they're desperate,” He said.

“Either way, that makes them dangerous,” Squirrel added.

They repacked their bags and began to trek across the snow covered wilderness, following the path that the assumed slavers had taken. It was maybe an hour or so before any of them had spoken, and it was because Kimba had a question for Butch.

“So, these _vault people_ , were you close to any of them?”

“If my mother isn't dead, she'll be among them,” Then he shrugged, “I wasn't really _close_ to anyone. At least, anyone who's still _alive_. Paul died during the uprising. I dated Janice for a little while, she's dead now too. Wally and I had a falling out, we took different sides. Almost had a thing with Christine. So, her and Freddie, I guess. Amata and I weren't really on good terms, but she's not so bad. That's about it, Christine and Freddie.”

None of the others knew who any of them were, but he'd kept talking about them, if just to pass the time. They were polite enough to listen until he had felt like he had started to ramble and finished what he was saying.

They came upon some pre-war baseball field, the old fence and a couple of benches were the only things left to mark where it had once been, and the tracks turned south sharply.

“Looks like we won't be traveling anymore today,” He sighed.

“Why not?” Flash asked, peering down south.

“'Cause we've already spent more'n half the day doin' this,” Squirrel replied for him, “And besides, we don't know how far south these tracks go, but the further they go, the further we are from Big Town.”

“Right,” He added, “We should look for somethin' to catch for dinner. On the way back, of course.”

They turned around, and went back the way they came.

 

 

_Cassidy DeLoria_

_-January 2nd, 2278-_

 

They hadn't had time to talk about it in depth yesterday but now they were all gathered around the living room of their crowded bunkhouse. It had been transferred from Big Towns' clubhouse to a home that they could share with each other, some of the Lamplighters split from the 'newcomers' group and sleep over in the other bunkhouse as well, but it wasn't like Big Town had much in the way of entertainment before they had converted it.

Butch kept a hold on the molerat named Dorrie, and kept it far away from her.

“The tracks go south,” Squirrel said, after everyone had been filled in on what had presumably happened near to Springvale, “We don't know how far.”

She had turned to Watson, the kid was more well traveled than nearly all of them combined. With a shrug Watson replied, “Some raiders do take slaves. It's rare, but it happens, so it could be any group doing it. I know there's the Talon company down south, but they're all mercs, I'm pretty sure they don't take slaves. Not for themselves anyways. There's some ruins down there, and probably about a dozen or so raider territories, but that doesn't really narrow it down to anywhere other than down south.”

“They can't really be that far away, can they?”

“Not more than a day I think. Not in that snow, at least.”

She sighed, “We're just not prepared... I don't know... It seemed like Paradise Falls was so much easier to manage.”

“We had Ella and Charon and Jamie and that woman, Cross, back then,” Butch frowned, “And we knew what we were dealing with. Could see their base from up on the water tower back in Minefield. In this we're shooting blind.”

Watson shrugged, “I could go scouting down that far, if you'd want. I'd be gone a couple of days, but I'll be able to tell you what's up.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea? What if you get caught?”

“I haven't been caught yet.”

“Just because you haven't _yet_ ,” Cassidy sighed.

“I'll be careful, okay?”

More than just her grumbled, but nobody else argued with the teen, and it was decided begrudgingly that Watson would follow the tracks south. Packing light, Watson was gone before noon. The hunting party left as well, checking on some northern spots that had been pointed out as being possible spots to go.

She paced. After some time she instead went to work on some of the leather that she was still working on.

A gentle hand brushed the hair from her shoulder and grasped her, Cassidy looked up to find that it was Jeanette.

“Hon, that seam's already done.”

She looked down at the pair of pants, finding that she was in fact sewing over a seam that had already been sewn together. She cut the thread and set aside the needle, letting the pants fall from her hand and sighed.

Jeanette sat down next to her, “What's the matter?”

Cassidy shrugged, gnawed on the inside of her cheek, “Things change so fast out here, and there's so much going on in so many different directions... I don't know what to do. Everyone from my vault are off somewhere in danger, and we have no idea if Ella or Charon or Jamie or Cross or Sarah are still alive. And that kid, MacCready? Where's he at? Is he okay or in danger?”

“You worry a lot,” Jeanette smiled sadly, “It's okay to worry, but out here it's also dangerous.”

Her eyebrows drew together and she looked to Jeanette and was about to reply when Jeanette continued.

“It can be dangerous to be distracted by something like that. Not that I'm not grateful, you've helped me and the other slaves escape Paradise Falls, you've helped these children, brought us all together. But you can't help everyone. We may be free, but there are so many others out there who aren't that you can never help. People out here are murdered every day, slaves, slavers, simple townsfolk, farmers, raiders, Brotherhood, Enclave... you can't help everyone.”

Cassidy frowned, “Sure, I know that. But I wasn't the only one to help you, shouldn't we all be worrying about the others? Shouldn't we be trying to keep ourselves together? We stand stronger together. I wish Bleak and Rory and MacCready could've seen that. I wish you could see that.”

Jeanette took her hand and gave it a firm squeeze, but she shook slightly. Cassidy had to continually tell herself that ghouls were often treated far differently than she, her brother, and Ella did. People like her didn't just let people like Jeanette touch them casually like this. She was glad that Jeanette had become comfortable enough with her to even attempt something like that.

“I know. Somewhere in me I know, but it's hard to have that ideology when no one else seems to believe it, when you have to worry that the next person will stab you in the back just for a handful of caps.”

Cassidy sighed, “Well... _I_ believe it. So let's stick together, yeah?”

Jeanette nodded, “Yeah.”

 


	40. The Grove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charon finds the Treeminders.

_Charon_

_-January 3rd, 2278-_

 

Winter had come, and with it brought violent blizzards that impeded his travels in search of Ella. The contract felt like it burned against his chest where it lay. Every day that he had gone without finding her, without fulfilling Jamies' order, ate away at him.

Who the fuck were the Treeminders anyways?

He bundled himself further against the winds with some old jacket that he'd found. There hadn't been enough to replace the terrible fitting fatigues he was wearing, but at least he could brace himself from the biting wind.

The storm made it impossible to travel, the clouds overhead spackled across the sky unevenly, but the snow came down anyways.

Charon had been using the blown out Enclave base as a guide, traveling in each direction for a day in search of Ella and the Treeminders, and then back to the base. He had been using a half-collapsed tunnel as shelter when the snowfall got too heavy, but while he had been out searching the night before, a troop of Paladins from the Brotherhood had come to occupy the space.

The soldiers worked tirelessly moving rubble to get deeper into the abandoned Enclave base, no doubt in search of usable armor, weaponry, technology, and research.

So he crowded himself against a little rocky alcove in the cliff and watched their progress while waiting for better weather. There was no doubt in his mind that they would open fire on him the very second they saw him, so he kept as low a profile as possible. He'd had to hide out before during wartime, so he knew how to bide his time.

It was fucking boring as brahmin shit, but there wasn't much else he could do.

 

The snow eventually did lessen, and the contract bid to him like a devils' whisper. Find Ella. Charon didn't think that Jamie understood what that meant though, because he would continue to travel and search for her until he found her, alive or dead.

And if she was dead, the contract would not let him enough time to even bury her. He would have to find the nearest person, just the first person he came across, and give it to them. If that were the case, then he'd be lucky if he were to make it back to Minefield where he knew Cassidy was without coming across any other person.

It was unlikely he'd make it that far, even seeing someone off in the distance would be enough to veer him off of his path.

He forcefully shook these thoughts away from him, physically shaking his head enough to dislodge some snow from his shoulder.

The Brotherhood soldiers below had disappeared down into the bunker, every once in a while a boulder or a bent girder would be carried out by two or three of them as they continued to clear away the wreckage. The snow lessened, but did not stop, but he wanted to get back to searching, if only to be away from the Enclave base and the Brotherhood soldiers and the boredom.

As well as he could, which wasn't very gracefully, he picked his way across the cliff and back to even land, and set off into a new direction yet again.

He was running out of directions, which meant that he probably had a much better chance of finding the Treeminders. He'd have to make allowments though, because the snow was deep enough and a pain in the ass enough that he couldn't travel the same distance in the same amount of time as he had in the days of his search previous.

Charon kept a keen eye on the horizon, anything that might have looked like a settlement that people called the 'Treeminders' might have made their own. Whatever _that_ entailed, he would probably know it when he saw it.

Until then, he would keep walking.

 

Just as that thought had passed his mind, he had (literally) stumbled across a narrow path that lead northward. Looking in that direction he could only see the jagged mountains, but it was a better lead than anything else that he had.

It had turned out to be a good idea, as the path, though snow-covered and narrow, led up to a gate that was surrounded by bare trees.

The bare trees grew as he came closer until they towered over him. Even with their leaves stripped from their branches, he could tell that they were _alive_. It was like day and night the difference between these and the now petrified husks of what had once been trees that he had seen through his travels.

He had traveled some of yesterday and all through the night, and now the sky was beginning to lighten with the threat of the sun. Many of the clouds that had brought down the snows upon the Capital Wasteland had blown themselves out or had moved more inland. While the clouds that remained were still dark and likely would dump more snow out onto the land, they were scattered.

A dark figure stood on the path just in front of the gate, at first unmoving and appearing as though a statue, but morphed into a woman in the minimal light. His shotgun, which he had been ready to use in case danger had magically fallen from the sky, nearly came up to level at the woman. The weapon was lowered when he realized that he recognized her, and searched his memory.

She had been the synth woman at the Enclave base, she must have been the one who had taken Ella here, as Jamie had said. If it were true, which he had reason to believe on account that he would not have lied about his sister being saved, then he owed her a great deal.

On the other hand, a lot could have happened since Ella had been taken here and Jamie had left the base. It had been more than a _month_. Complications could have arisen. He didn't want to think about it, so he approached the synth.

“Where's Ella?” Was the only thing he could force out of his mouth when he had finally reached her.

The synth woman looked at him, her eyes were wide, but not in surprise. She looked more like a very curious house cat who had seen a bird for the first time. She nodded once and led him up to the gate proper and opened it only enough to allow them to slip into the grove itself.

While the trees were stripped of their leaves, their trunks and the growth of bushes and underbrush had covered all evidence that they were surrounded on all sides by high jagged cliffs.

With surroundings like these he didn't have to wonder as to why no one in the wasteland knew of the place. It was so well concealed that he had probably passed it a few times while on his search. They were protected entirely from the dangers outside, and even further they were protected mostly from the snow. As soon as he had arrived, the snow that had been about at his knees had dropped down to a thin sheet that he could easily step over instead of through.

He saw the Treeminders for the first time, many of them were thin, but more healthy looking than even the most well-fed of mercs that he'd met before, and they were completely covered head to toe in rough woven cloth. They looked more like sacks of potatoes than people.

But the Treeminders either gave no mind to him or gave him soft curious looks. It didn't matter to them that he was a ghoul or that he was an outsider that had come in from the wasteland. He put away his shotgun, slinging it across his back. There wouldn't be any confrontation here, unless he had made one himself. He didn't plan on it.

They went about their business, whatever chores they were doing or they went back to praying. There was even a child who went about her daily routine happily.

The Treeminders and the synth woman weren't the only living beings in these woods, as he had spotted movement among the trees and thought for a brief second that there was danger nearby. He had nearly brought his shotgun back out, but on closer inspection he had spotted a couple of two-headed radstags, one being an actual stag and two or three does. There was a possibility that there could have been a fawn in there somewhere, but it was difficult to see them under the cover of nature.

The more he saw of the trees, the more in awe he became.

“This man is here for Ella,” The synth said, introducing him to the man who must've been the leader of the Treeminders.

He was a delicate looking old man, looked him up and down with no fear in his eyes, and smiled, “She's out in the grove, speaking to the God-Tree.”

“Where's the grove?” He asked.

The synth leaned towards him and whispered, “The Treeminders don't let outsiders in the Grove until they have performed a special ritual.”

He looked from her to the old man, wondering just what kind of 'ritual' he was required to do. But he at least knew one thing, and that was that Ella _was_ in fact alive, and that she was so unbelievably close to him.

Despite the fact that she had whispered to him, the old Treeminder had heard her, and nodded almost sagely. He shuffled off, leading the two of them to the well-crafted wood gazebo in the middle of everything. It was set up like an impromptu church, with pews lined up in a half-circle across the back. In the middle there was a basin, its' contents a thick and shiny dark amber color.

The synth whispered to him again, though this time he was sure that none of the Treeminders heard her, “They believe that drinking the sap will purify you before you go into the grove, to protect it from any disease you may be bringing.”

He sighed and just rolled with it, if it was what got him to Ella, he'd eat or drink nearly anything no matter how gross or disgusting. He'd eaten worse before, and the command to find Ella still had not let up, and it wouldn't until he saw her with his own eyes and handed the contract back over to her. He took up an old dented ladle and brought it to his mouth.

The sap was sickeningly sweet, he felt as though he were going to throw up, and all of his teeth were going to fall out rotted at the same time. The thickness of it clung to his teeth, his gums, and his tongue, so he had to struggle to swallow it down and clear his mouth of it.

The effect was strange, dizzying. The only time he had felt this dizzy or his vision had been this blurry (that he could remember) were the strange bled-together weeks during the process of his ghoulification. After he had become a ghoul though, drugs hadn't affected him as much as they had before, so it was strange to have felt so strong of an effect from the sap.

He stumbled to the ground, just barely keeping himself from falling on his face, but he had ended up on his knees and curled over. The synth woman was near to him, waiting, and the Treeminders were in a loose circle around him, chanting prayers that turned to garbled nonsense when they arrived at his ears.

It all passed after some number of minutes, and the Treeminders went back to whatever they had been doing beforehand. He struggled to his feet, but the synth woman helped him up with surprising strength. She led him past the gazebo and to a gate.

He still felt a little unsteady, but the woman let him be on his own when she had safely escorted him through the gate. She gestured further into the glade, towards a large tree. He was glad that she didn't want to walk him all the way through to Ella, he had to keep _some_ of his dignity, even if he was still a little dizzy.

His surroundings were washed away, Ella was so close. He had to see her for himself. He stumbled into the glade, making a bee-line for the large tree in the middle of all of it. She wasn't at the front of the tree, so he began to walk around, finding her bundled up in a little cocoon of blankets and sitting against the tree.

He breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up at him with initial surprise, then began to cry. Taking the contract from the inside pocket, he handed over to her. A small hand came out timidly and took the contract, retreating back into the blankets with her. She seemed so much smaller now than she had before, and was noticeably thinner.

Ella struggled to get up from her spot against the tree, he offered his hand and she took it with gratefulness. He hefted her up to her feet, and the moment she was steady, her arms had snaked around his midsection.

He couldn't help but return the embrace, for one reason, he wanted to hold her as close to him as was physically possible. The other reason, he was keeping the rough blanket from falling away from her shoulders. He expected her to cry or sob in his arms, but she didn't. There were a few tears, but they dried up, and he thought that perhaps she was dehydrated or in shock, or both.

She wiped at the dry tear tracks across her cheeks, and looked up at him. Her eyes were red, she had been crying before he had come, so it made sense that perhaps she just didn't have anymore of them to cry.

“How did you find me?” She said, her voice so small.

“Jamie,” He rasped, keeping his voice from breaking only through sheer willpower, “He told me the synth woman had taken you to a place where people called the Treeminders lived. That it was only about a nights' walk away from the Enclave base.”

She seemed to understand immediately, “So you've been going in every direction, looking for me?”

He nodded.

She smiled, another tear snuck out from the corner of her eye, “I'm glad you're here.”

“I am too.”

She laid her head against his chest, he took the opportunity to wrap the blanket more securely around her.

Ella spoke quietly, he almost hadn't caught it, “I can't ever shoot again.”

He was struck dumb, “What?”

She pulled away from him, only a few inches, just enough for her to show him what she had meant. Her right hand had been crippled, it was scarred and her fingers were now curled and crooked. She would never be able to shoot her sniper rifle, let alone another gun in general, which she had carried as though it had been her baby, ever again. It would be nearly impossible for her to defend herself, and certainly not at any distance.

She again buried herself in his arms, he held her close.

And then he looked up, his eyes meeting the face of another, and he nearly jolted back in surprise alone.

Ella, being curious, looked to him, then saw what it was that had startled him. There was a goddamn man _in_ the tree.

“Charon, this is Harold.”

“Howdy.”

He looked to Harold. He looked to Ella. He looked to Harold. He looked back to Ella.

“ _ **What the fuck?**_ ”

 

They had to walk away from the tree-man, he couldn't make any sense of it. Ella had led him to a more secluded part of the grove and sat him down upon a bench. If all the trees had still had their leaves, it would have been a downright magical place, even pre-war. He wouldn't mind if they had stayed here until spring, or if they had come back later on.

Even at the bench, he couldn't take his eyes off of the direction that Harold was in. Ella tapped him on the shoulder, and when he looked to her, she had a sad smile on her face.

“I _know._ It's pretty crazy.”

“ _Pretty_ crazy?”

She shrugged, “I know. Just, Harolds' been very kind to me since I've come here. He's been so lonely.”

“He's got people _worshiping_ him,” He pointed out to her.

“They do, but they don't listen to what he has to say,” She replied, “They take everything he tells them as a riddle. He wants to _die_ , Charon, but they think that he's _testing_ their _faith_.”

He looked back to where the tree-man, Harold, was rooted. He knew what it felt like to be alone in a crowd full of people. He had felt that feeling for the two-hundred years after the bombs had dropped. If someone were to have killed him, he would have said thank you.

“No one has taken him seriously?”

She shook her head, “No. I want to help him, but I can't kill him. I just _can't._ ”

“Why not?” He turned to her, and as soon as the words had come from his mouth, he knew that was the stupidest question he could have asked. It was probably the stupidest question he'd asked in his entire life.

She had been looking away from him when he had asked, she sighed and laid her head against his arm, “He doesn't deserve to be alone, but that's no reason to kill him. He's so kind, and all of this was possible because of him. Without him, there would be no trees.”

Ella hadn't gotten angry at him for the question, and he was surprised. He would have been angry if he had been her and he'd asked that question.

This time he thought his question through entirely before he spoke it, “Have you told them what he wants?”

She sighed, “I've tried, but they won't listen.”

Ella shifted on the bench, they sat there for a few moments in silence until she spoke up again before he could ask another question, “They've been arguing since I got here. Probably since before I got here, but I have no idea what to do.”

“What to do about what?”

“Father Birch wants to stop Harolds' growth, or, _Bobs'_ growth. Bobs' the tree,” She explained, “And Mother Laurel wants to speed up his growth, so that the trees will be able to cover the entire wasteland. And of course, Harold wants me to kill him.”

He thought of the options, none of them were good. No matter which one was picked, someone would be upset, and he wasn't as worried about the Treeminders as he was about the unfortunate man that they worshipped.

“Wouldn't it be lovely though?” She asked suddenly, “The entire Capital Wasteland, covered in trees. Greener than any green I've ever seen. I wish I could see them as they're supposed to be.”

Of course, he hadn't thought about the fact that Ella hadn't seen any trees except for possibly in books. The greens of the old world had faded to an almost grayish, and the green glow of radstorms weren't the same. He wanted to show her what _real_ green looked like.

He was suddenly curious about something, but he didn't want to ask it. Instead they sat together in silence, looking over the grove.

 

Hours had passed and it was time for dinner. They were given platefuls of some sort of tasteless mush. Afterwards they retired to the chambers that the Treeminders had given to Ella, down in the caves that gave them shelter.

She fell asleep easily, totally relaxed with her head using his thigh as a pillow. While she was asleep, he brought her hand into his, cradling it carefully to get a look at the damage that had been done. There wasn't much light that he could use to see, but his eyes saw the full extent as they adjusted to the dark.

Ella was good at finding things to distract her from what should have affected her more. He wondered just when that dam would break.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been awhile since I updated this, reasons including just not getting a good amount of words on the page and the fact that we're about to move into our first house(!!!). It'll be a couple of months before we actually do move, it's a bit of a fixer-upper, so I'll be writing/uploading whenever I can but it will be tight. (Another reason is that I just haven't found the time to update, I've got a few chapters staggered).
> 
> And something about the last chapter that I wanted to clear up; Dorrie the Molerat! I was actually going to go over the chapter one last time before it was posted up, but I entirely forgot so I had to go back and add a few sentences about Dorrie. For everyone who read the last chapter and didn't see anything about Dorrie, then don't worry because she's fine! (I wouldn't want anyone to go back and read it just for three measly sentences) Butch takes her on hunting trips and she's good at finding burrows! And because Cassidy doesn't like molerats, Dorrie isn't allowed anywhere near her, especially while she sleeps. :P
> 
> (Reviews are always appreciated)


	41. A Strange Meeting Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watson sets out to find the vault dwellers.

_Holly Watson_

_-January 5th, 2278-_

 

She had followed the trail carefully, skirting around the dangerous locations she knew of, and the ones that she thought may have been dangerous to her. It was slow going, but the clouds had cleared out, but the snow around her kept its shape. Holly hoped that it would continue in this way, because the last thing she needed was to be traveling in the mud and half-frozen sheets of ice.

There were no campfires, she couldn't risk being found out by someone. So instead she would find the best place to huddle up and ate cold cram straight out of the can. The can she would bury in the morning before departing, she wouldn't want to leave a trail after her, alerting others that she had food on her. She couldn't help the tracks in the snow.

It was all pretty boring though, all things considered. She walked and walked until the light of the day had gone, then she would hunker down for the night, then start it all over again the next day.

The tracks kept going south, and so did she.

That was, until she got to the old highway that went east to west, and then she brought out her map. She hadn't told the others about Evergreen Mills, she had only heard about it, and a wary merchant who wanted to retire to Rivet City had marked it down for her, but she hadn't wanted to tell the others. What was she supposed to say? That the people they knew and loved had been captured by the most well-guarded group of raiders?

The people she had met had called them Sawyers (The Evergreen Sawyers), or Slavers. She didn't know what the first one meant, but the second had been disputed, since Slavers were technically those who dealt in slaves, but she guessed it didn't matter to the people that they had captured. Who cares about semantics at a time like that?

But Evergreen Mills was decidedly _north_ of the highway that ran east to west. The tracks she was following kept going South, but she only knew that Tenpenny Tower was somewhere south of here. She had never been in this area before, so she had no idea what to expect.

_How many other slaver camps were there?_

Holly put the map back into her bag, and inspected the area under the bridge. There was another campfire, this one looked more recent, less cold.

Maybe they hadn't been taken by slavers after all, but that didn't explain why there had been a struggle at the other campsite up north. But if they hadn't been taken by slavers or some raider faction, then that meant that they could very well be nearby and unharmed.

She quickened her pace following the tracks down. These were fresher, they hadn't been covered back up with snow, which means that at the very earliest they had come through here three or four days ago when it had last come down.

She was in luck though, because the tracks disappeared into some old factory. Twice she circled the perimeter of it, making absolutely sure that there were no additional tracks outwards, and to make sure there wasn't some other immediate threats nearby.

Though she still didn't know how to approach this. She didn't know them, and they didn't know her.

 

After awhile of thinking outside the door of the factory, she decided on knocking. It was quiet, so she tried again, knocking as loud as she could. A voice came through the crack of the door.

“Who are you?”

She hadn't thought this far ahead even with taking the time to try to decide what to do, of what she should tell them, of what would happen. This entire trip she had been thinking of how to spy on slavers without getting caught.

“The twins sent me.”

There was a quiet moment, then something scraped against the door and it opened up. Thin and dirty faces stared back at her, some of them were bloodied, though the blood had dried into a dark red-brown that crusted on their skin and clothing and hair.

She was let in, and the people all looked at her expectantly. A sudden thought struck her and she brought out her supplies, handing off some of her water to them. It was guzzled down, a gulp to each of them, and it was gone in seconds.

“Where's Butch and Cassidy?” Their apparent leader asked, “And Ella?”

There were six of them, but four of the six were the same age as the two DeLorias and Ella. The other two were older, one was middle-aged, and the other was an elderly woman.

“North, at Big Town. I came down to scout ahead for them, to get information.”

“Information? About what?”

She gestured to them, “Everyone thinks you got captured by _slavers_.”

“There's _slavers_ up here?' A girl cried incredulously, “Like, people who take _slaves_?”

“Uh, well, _yeah_.”

 

After introductions and a short discussion (Mostly involving her continually confirming that there were people who kidnapped people and made them their slaves), she had convinced them that they should head north to Big Town. They were surprised to learn just how close they had been to the settlement.

Their leader, Amata, seemed the most ashamed, “I can't believe that. We hadn't seen a single sign of life in more than a week, and we were less than a days walk away the whole time?”

She shrugged, “Don't feel too bad. Everyone'll just be happy you're not dead.”

Amata seemed even more ashamed, and retreated into silence. The others, particularly Susie and Christine, were curious as to how Cassidy, Butch, and Ella were doing. They had been the first three of their peer group to have left the vault, so it made sense that they would want to follow in what the three of them had carved out for themselves.

She told them what she could, mostly just to placate them. She wanted to get back out onto the road as soon as possible, and that meant that they all needed to get some actual sleep before they took their journey.

But they wanted to know more and more, and she did her best at answering their questions as quickly as she could. Questions like what kind of animals and plants and people and cities and villages there were. Did people above ground wear make-up? Did they use pre-war currency? Was there still a government? A President? (She shivered at the thought of the Enclave and the last radio message that had played over their channel).

The questions kept coming and coming, and didn't stop until a loud thud echoed into the first room, the door that had been locked by putting a piece of pipe through the handles of the door had jerked forward.

She brought out her pipe pistol, the others seemed to shrink on themselves or tried to hide behind her or each other. They didn't have any weapons, she realized.

The door crashed open with the second bang, the doors stayed on their hinges, but the metal pipe that had been used to lock it had been bent at a strange angle, and a figure appeared. They had a rifle up, but neither of them shot.

She hadn't because this person was the tallest person she'd ever seen, and there were only two people she knew that were as tall as they were, being Charon and Cross. The figure didn't fire, she figured, because they had been expecting radroaches or molerats or ferals.

What they found were six scared civilians and a girl holding a rusted homemade pistol. The figure entered through the door, the rifle lowered, and she holstered her own pistol.

“Cross?”

The woman looked down at her, an eyebrow raised slightly as she looked over her, then suddenly, “ _Oh_ , kid.”

She turned to the others, “She's okay. I know her,” Then turned to Cross, “They're from Ellas' vault.”

Cross looked over them individually as she put away her rifle. When she was done examining them all, she turned and exited the door. She was gone a few long minutes, and then returned with a giant super-mutant in tow.

She blinked, hand instinctively going to her pistol, and the vault dwellers cowered in the corner from the monster. The super-mutant, however, sat peacefully in a corner away from them.

“This is Fawkes,” Cross introduced, as she went about gathering things around them and dumping them into the center of the room. The door was closed and locked back up, and Cross disappeared further into the factory.

A few minutes after her leaving, Fawkes began to speak, “I will not harm any of you,” He assured.

“Okay.”

One by one, the vault dwellers began to relax, and came to sit nearer to the middle of the room with her and the things that Cross had gathered and dumped. They didn't even try to hid their staring at the super-mutant named Fawkes.

“So, there's just people out here who look like you?” Freddie asked, and for the question he received a smack from Mr Brotch.

“I'm the only one of my kind who won't kill humans like you on sight,” Fawkes said simply, “The others will eat you.”

They looked a little disbelieving, she had to assure them that he was not joking. They were a little more fearful of him, not much, but the staring had turned to careful watching. After a few more minutes, she decided that perhaps Cross had wanted her (Or just someone in general) to start a fire for them with the materials she had gathered.

She went about it with speed, she didn't want Cross to come back and be angry that nobody was doing anything useful around here, especially since Holly could hear the far away shots of a hunting rifle deeper in the factory.

Holly tended to the fire carefully, making sure it never got too big, but that the flames never died down too much. It was a good idea, because when Cross came back two molerats were dumped down next to her. Without even thinking too much, she drew out her knife and began to cut chunks away from the first one, so that the pieces would cook much faster than if they had spit roasted the entire thing.

Cross then dumped her bag, it was full of plates and glasses that she must've gotten from inside the factory, and they were passed around until everyone got one of each. There was nuka-cola that had come from a machine somewhere inside, and was distributed as evenly as it could be among everyone there. The first few chunks of molerat were given to the vault dwellers, who scarfed it down just as quickly as they had the water she had offered them when they had first met and the nuka-cola they'd just had.

With them distracted though, she could finally ask some of her own questions, instead of being barraged by theirs.

“I found the signs of the struggle under the bridge near Springvale, we had thought you were all caught by slavers.”

Amata shook her head, grease from the molerat fat was smeared around her mouth, making it shine from the light of the fire.

“So what happened?” She prodded. She really wanted to know what had gone down that had made them all think that they had been kidnapped.

She wiped the fat from her mouth, it sat on top of her vault suit like it had sat on top of her face, the fabric of the suit just wasn't very absorbent, “The explosion. I thought we were all safe, but after awhile, our water began to show up with high levels of radiation. _Very_ high levels. Our purifier just couldn't handle it, it was made more for just purifying and recycling the water we already had. It was never meant to take out any large amount of radiation. We still don't know how it got into our water in the first place.”

She listened closely. Cross seemed to be interested too. Fawkes ate his raw molerat meat (bones and all) quietly in the corner.

“Well, I made the decision to evacuate, and we went. But the nearby places that we could've settled in were all filled with radiation, so we had to go farther and we ended up under the bridge. The others, everyone who had been loyalist before I became Overseer, started blaming everyone else for it. They blamed me, they blamed Ella and Cassidy and Butch, and just whoever that wasn't them. I tried to reason with them, but there were way more of them than us. They fought us for control of the guns, they took our food, and they left. I don't know where. When we did leave, we went the opposite way as them”

She thought on it for awhile. These people who had spent their entire lives together had turned on each other the very second they had left their home. What kind of people did that?

There was silence again for awhile, then Cross spoke unexpectedly.

“Thank you, again.”

Amata was completely taken aback, she nearly fell over from her spot by the fire, “For what?”

“The supplies,” Cross replied, “When Megaton had exploded, I was there when we had come to the vault looking for supplies.”

A wave of relief washed over all of them. Holly imagined that at least one or two of them probably thought that because Cross was in their debt, that she would return the favor, or become an ally. She had no doubt of the second one, but that wasn't because she was in anyones' debt.

“Did they help?” Amata asked, “The people, who needed them?”

“Yes,” Cross said, “Everyone except one. A woman named Jenny died while we were gone.”

“I'm sorry.”

“I didn't know her.”

Amata seemed to realize something, “There was a man with you, he claimed to be Ellas' brother.”

“He was Ellas' brother.”

That particular phrasing caught her off-guard, but Amata and the rest of the vault dwellers didn't seem to notice.

“We didn't know she had a brother.”

“He didn't go into the vault with them. He chose to stay out here.”

The others couldn't even imagine wanting to stay out here in the wastes, she both pitied and envied them. Amata continued, “So he actually _is_?”

“Was.”

“Was?” She was able to ask before Amata.

“He died. I buried him not far from here.”

“Oh,” Amata said in a small voice.

“Sorry for your loss,” She said to Cross. With the short amount of time she had seen Jamie and Cross interact, it seemed like they had known each other for awhile.

“Thank you.”

“So, what are you doing here?” She asked, “I thought you were part of the Brotherhood, and that they'd taken back the purifier?”

It didn't seem right, some small part of her mind told her, she wasn't wearing any Brotherhood gear. Then again, she hadn't when they'd first met either, but there was a tenseness that she carried in her shoulders that hadn't been there before.

“I was. They did,” Cross replied solemnly, “There was a problem with the purifier when we had attacked, there was a radiation build-up. Jamie went into the chamber and turned it on to release that radiation, he saved thousands of lives, knowing he would forfeit his own.”

“He did that?”

“Yes. But he didn't die. He began to go through the process of ghoulification. I had been knocked out, I woke up two weeks later only to find that they had executed him. Better to die a hero than to live as a ghoul, was what I was told.”

She frowned, “So then you left them?”

Cross nodded.

“Then what are you doing this far south? I would've thought that you would've gone back to Minefield, not that we're there anymore.”

“There's something I need down here, but I can't get to her.”

This piqued the interest of the vault dwellers, “Can't get to who?” Mr Brotch asked.

“Liliana. Jamie's daughter, Ella's niece. She and Jamie lived in Tenpenny Tower, she's still there, but Tenpenny and his men won't let anyone in who's got less than a thousand caps on them.”

“Isn't Tenpenny Tower the safest place in the entire Capital?” She asked. She had heard those rumors, but the more she heard them, the more she likened them to be true. It wasn't just one or two people who said it, there were dozens who claimed it.

“It is. For now,” Cross said ominously, “There's a large group of ghouls who want in, and from what I've seen, I don't think they want to do it the peaceable way.”

She mulled over the words, but what was to be done? “What were you going to do about it?”

Cross looked at her, a long blank stare, “Do you know how to act?”

 


	42. The Empty Neighborhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ella and Charon return to Minefield with Heather.

_Ella Rhodes_

_-January 6th, 2278-_

 

It had been three days since Charon had come, and every day that they spent together seemed to be the same. They'd wake up, eat breakfast with the Treeminders, she would go and sit with Harold and listen to the radio with him while Charon either left Oasis to make sure no one had followed his snow-tracks back to there or he went to climb the cliffs to get a better view of the wasteland. He was always late the lunch because of this, but he'd sit and eat with her when he did return. Afterwards he would sit on the bench as she talked to Harold. Then it was dinner and time to go to bed.

It was more often than not that she had the same dream, the dream of building enshrouded in darkness. There were other things, but they were different night-to-night, repeating only once in awhile, while the building that it was that she saw was the same, ever single night. She wondered why she kept dreaming of this place. She had confided in Father Birch, but his interpretations of the building were even more confusing than the dreams themselves.

The Treeminders, as a whole, had been interested when she had told them that she was a Priest of All Faiths, and that she wanted to learn the ways of the Treeminders to spread their teachings. While they were still wary because of her status as an outsider, they were willing to teach her.

That was how she was able to meet Harold in the first place, and she was happy to have met him. He was much better company than the Treeminders were. There was a difference between having your faith and fanaticism. They were clearly in the latter category.

She couldn't kill Harold, and she talked things over with him. After weeks, maybe a month? He had finally changed his mind about wanting to die. Though it was with her solemn promise that when she did actually leave, she would come and visit as often as she could. She wouldn't leave him alone with these crazy people for too long.

That wouldn't be fair.

But he understood that at some point, she _would_ have to leave. He accepted it, and she was glad that he was not distraught over that fact.

 _Civilization_ began to play, she leaned back against Harolds' bark.

“I wish he'd play something else.”

“You don't like the song?” Harold asked.

“Three-Dog plays it a lot,” She replied sullenly, more sullenly than she thought was necessary, “It gets a little obnoxious after awhile, and the chorus gets stuck in my head usually right when I'm trying to sleep.”

Harold hummed, “What would you rather him play?”

She thought it over, “ _Maybe._ By The Ink Spots. I like them.”

“Is _Maybe_ your favorite?” He asked.

She shrugged, then smiled, “Maybe. _I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire_ is pretty good too. Those two and _Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall_ are the only things I've heard from them. Three-Dog has only those three by them apparently. Have they done anything else?”

He hummed, thought for a moment, “When I lived back in California, and when I lived in my Vault, there were a few. A few more than here, obviously. Some I don't remember the names to, there was one about a cowboy. _If I didn't care_ was one... Probably my favorite... was... _We'll Meet Again_.”

“What's it sound like?”

Harold thought a moment or two before answering, “It starts off like Maybe...” He mumbled. He hummed the first few bars that started the song, “Like that.”

“Uh huh?”

He hummed a little more, then his old voice began to sing, he couldn't carry the tune very well, but he went through it, “ _We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when. But I know we'll meet again, some sunny day._ Like that.”

She smiled, “Maybe you could teach me the song?”

“Maybe,” He said, “I don't think I remember all the lyrics. Maybe your Charon knows it.”

“Do you think he does?” She asked, “I should ask him later.”

“Why not now?” Harold asked, his face turned slightly, impeded by Bob, “He's coming through.”

He could hear far better than she could, probably better than most people could. Just half a minute after he had said that, had Charon rounded the around the bend. _Civilization_ ended, and she turned off the radio as Three-Dogs' voice came through from some pre-recorded segment she had heard before.

“Harold said that maybe you knew a song that he likes? I want to learn it,” She called to him.

Charon turned and approached them, away from the bench where he usually kept himself, “What song?”

“ _We'll Meet Again,_ ” Harold said, “By The Ink Spots. Ella says that they're her favorite, but she's only heard three of their songs. I thought maybe because you're pre-war, you've heard the song before.”

“I know the song. Even if I wasn't Pre-war, I heard it a lot in Junction, but Ink Spots didn't do it. Not first, anyways. It was Vera Lynn, I remember there were rumors that Vera _Keyes_ did a cover of it, for troops stationed abroad at USO shows,” He replied casually, “I would have killed someone if it meant that I could get a holotape of it.”

“So you do know the song?” Harold asked, “I'd only ever heard it by the Ink Spots.”

“'Course I do,” He replied, “But I'm not going to sing it. Never had a good singing voice, even before becoming a ghoul.”

“So you never sang?” She asked him.

“Never said that, we all sang. Terribly. We had a hell of a time. Never knew _you_ could sing though,” He cleared is throat a little nervously.

Her face heated with a blush, she hoped that it wasn't noticeable to him, but he smirked at her in a way that made her think that he could, “A little. We were only allowed to sing hymns in the vault, but some of us would sing together in the lower levels from the old holotapes that were lying around. You wouldn't believe it, but Butch has a wonderful singing voice.”

“I wouldn't have guessed.”

Harold interrupted, “So do you think you can teach her to sing it?”

Charon shrugged, “I can try. I won't sing it myself though.”

She brightened up.

“As long as you promise you'll sing for me?”

She nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, of course.”

Charon began, speaking the lines of the song, a little tilt in his voice that alluded to a melody rather than became one. He repeated the first two lines that Harold had already sung, and continued; “ _Keep smiling through, just like you always do, 'til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away. So will you please say hello to the folks that I know, tell them I won't be long. They'll be happy to know, that as you saw me go, I was singing this song._ ”

He went back to the chorus, repeating it twice, then the verse repeated. The last of the song was the chorus once again. It was simple enough to follow, but she wondered if she could pull it off without the accompanying music.

He and Harold looked at her expectantly though, so she timidly tried the chorus. She tried to follow the melody that Harold had set before, but as soon as she got to the verse, she could tell that her timing was off. None of it sounded right, but she tripped and struggled through it.

After that, Harold sang it as best he could, now that the lyrics had been so recently laid out, he was able to do the entire song.

From there, she was able to hold the tune, and her second attempt went much better. They spent the rest of the day singing until she was able to go through the whole song perfectly and on beat. By the end, she had even remembered all of the lyrics.

She and Charon said goodnight to Harold and went to dinner with the Treeminders and Heather. It was the same as everything else they had eaten here, so they got through it as quickly as possible and went to their little section of shelter that the Treeminders had provided to them.

They curled up together, and she couldn't help but hum out some of the tune of the song, then sleepily, “Do you like this song the most?”

“I'd say it's on my short list.”

She hummed into his side as she lay against him, “So you never sang it yourself though?”

He was silent for a moment, his voice becoming soft, “I sang it only once.”

She was curious, but she didn't want to outright ask. She pulled away slightly and looked to him, wondering if he would actually tell her what sort of special occasion he had kept the song for.

“I sang it to my brother,” He said. He pulled the little poem book out of an inside pocket from the uniform (She had tried to convince him to take some clothes from the Treeminders, so that he would have something that would fit, but he refused because he didn't want to look like a 'big sack of potatoes'), “When I was, er, fifteen or sixteen I think, my friends and I jacked a car. Prettiest little Candy Apple Corvega. Took it for a joyride. There were seven of us jammed into that car. We all got caught, but one, in the end, and we were given two choices. Grown-up jail or the military. Three of us picked the military, two picked jail, and the two others got off scot-free.”

He shifted in his spot, scooting himself down so that he was lying next to her, instead of propping himself against the rocky wall. Then he continued, “Bram was ten, maybe, and he had nothin' to do with the planning or anything, so he didn't get in trouble. I spent two weeks in juvie, then they let me home for three days, then I had to go into training. He didn't want me to go, couldn't even sleep the last night I was there and couldn't stop cryin', so I sang it to him. I didn't see him for years after, and things were different after that. We just were never as close as we were as kids. It was hard trying to reconnect, and we never really did.”

It had been the most he had ever shared about his life, either before or after the war. The story saddened her, but she was happy that he was comfortable enough to have shared it with her. He fell silent after, and she hummed the tune until the darkness overcame her.

 

_-January 7th, 2278-_

 

Ella woke up to find that Charon had already left their little sleeping mat. She expected him to be nearby. He wasn't. She dressed herself, though slowly and with a little bit of difficulty (Charon had been helping since he had arrived, before that had been Heather). She thought maybe she'd find him eating breakfast with the Treeminders.

He wasn't there either. A short question aimed at Heather revealed that he had left early in the morning and out through the front gate. He hadn't even had breakfast before he left, according to her. It was strange, and she couldn't help but feel that maybe it had something to do with yesterday.

She couldn't help the pang of loneliness as she ate her breakfast without him. She prayed with Mother Laurel, and went to go sit with Harold. He could tell something was off, but they listened to the radio in companionable silence, at least for awhile.

After perhaps the third or fourth song, Harold spoke to her quietly.

“What is it that's bothering you?”

She shrugged, “Charon left this morning without a word.”

Harold hummed a disapproving hum, “And he will not be coming back?”

“No, he will,” She sighed, “I know he will.”

“So it just upset you that he left without saying anything?”

“We didn't even eat breakfast together.”

“Are you sure that he'll come back?”

“Positive,” She replied, “I mean, he spent the last _month_ looking for me. I doubt he would be here for three days and just leave forever.”

Three-Dog couldn't wait for summer, he began to play _Let's Go Sunning_. They listened to it for a little while.

Charon came up to them suddenly, which she thought was also strange, because he usually came back to Oasis after lunch and then he'd sit on the bench at the other end of the grove. She watched him and waited for him to say whatever it was that he was going to say, considering that he had come right up to her and Harold.

“A lot of the snow melted yesterday,” he told her, “Then refroze in the night. Today would be a good day to travel.”

“Wouldn't there be ice and mud?” She asked.

He shook his head, “There's still snow, but because it half-melted and froze up, it's all stiff. It would be easier to travel than if it were full snow or if it were mud. If we don't go, we'll probably have to wait until the spring thaw.”

“Oh, okay. I suppose, we'll go. I, uhm, could you go and pack for me? I want to say goodbye to Harold.”

Charon nodded with acceptance and left them, heading back to the gate and back to the caves where her backpack had been left. She was incredibly lucky that she had been wearing it, or else it probably would have been left at the Enclave base when it blew up. There hadn't been much in there that was truly _very_ important.

“I guess this is it, Harold,” She said, sadly.

“I suppose it was time,” He replied, “It were good to have your company.”

“I'll come and visit,” She promised.

He hummed, “Thank you.”

She stood, leaving her pip-boy on the ground in front of him, “I want you to have it, so you can listen to the radio.”

“That's very kind of you, thank you,” Harold said, “But before you go, I think I should tell you something that you need to do.”

“What is it?”

“You should tell your Charon that he upset you this morning.”

“It doesn't matter anymore. I knew he wasn't going to leave,” She sighed. She knew that Charon wouldn't have left, even without the contract.

“Don't matter whether he was leavin' or not. It upset you.”

“Me being upset doesn't matter,” She replied to him, “Everything is fine.”

He humphed at her, “Well, good-bye then. I will miss you, and so will Bob.”

“Good-bye. I'll miss you and Bob, too. I'll come back when I can.”

“Thank you.”

She walked around him, headed for the exit. _Swing Doors_ began to play and faded away as she left the grove.

 

They said good-bye to the Treeminders, and Heather had gathered what she had collected for herself in the last month into her own make-shift bag.

Charon came to her, and bundled the scratchy blanket that the Treeminders had provided around her better, then helped her into her Tunnel Snakes' jacket. The blood had been easy to clean from the black leather, but she'd have to get Cassidy to sew up the two holes where the bullet had ripped through her.

After that, they left down the narrow path out of Oasis, single file with Charon at the front and Heather behind her. Charon had armed Heather, she had confirmed that she had some training with firearms put into her memories, and he scolded her for talking so glibly about her being a synth. He had only one request of Heather, and that was to tell no one about what she was. People feared the synths, and there were people who went after the synths as well.

She agreed to the term.

The three of them began their long journey south, Charon led them by following the towering remains of the highway. They weren't quite under it, as the area underneath the highway, though clear of snow, was primarily rocky terrain.

The hard snow crunched loudly under their feet, and they made good time, stopping only at dusk to eat dinner and wait for the twilight to fade and for the moon to come out. Even in the little bit of light that it provided, the light reflected off of the snow and night was nearly as bright as day. So they kept walking.

 

_-January 8th, 2277-_

 

It may have been about midnight when they saw the water tower. They made camp for the night in an old train, somewhere near where she and Charon had found the Yao Guai. They were more likely to get shot full of holes if they came knocking on the door in Minefield in the middle of the night rather than coming in first thing in the morning. She was looking forward to being home with everybody again.

Charon was still awake when she went to sleep, and when she awoke, he was gone. He'd been unusually quiet since they had left, but she had attributed it to traveling. They had gone as hard and as fast through the landscape as they could, all leading to Minefield, but now she doubted that it was the reason he'd been so quiet.

Harolds' voice seemed to invade her mind and chide her for not listening to him. If she were honest with herself, she was afraid to. With Charon still under the rule of the contract, he was obligated to be with her, but if she complained to him about something that wasn't important? What if he began to no longer care for her? Or began to think that being in a relationship with her was a mistake?

What _was_ their relationship anyways? They had slept together once, they had kissed a handful of times, and they had talked casually a very small number of times in the comfortable quietness of very late nights or very early mornings.

But now she couldn't figure out just what had happened that had changed between them since yesterday. It worried her.

Heather was just outside the train that they had slept in, and she stepped out as well, into the almost afternoon light. She had slept in, although she had wished that Charon had woken her up earlier so that they could be in Minefield by now.

He stood on a rocky outcropping above them, gun in hand and looking as though he were presiding over the wasteland itself. Perhaps he continually turned in his scouting for any danger nearby, or maybe he had heard her as she had stepped out from the train, but he turned to see her, and picked his way down the rocks and back to her and Heather.

He sighed, “You're not going to like it.”

“What's happened?”

A free hand of his went to rub the back of his neck, he turned away, “No one is in Minefield.”

“What?”

“All of them are gone.”

She wanted to see for herself, maybe pick up a trail or a sign or some sort of clue as to where everyone was or some sort of explanation, so they gathered up their packs and gear and walked up to the water tower.

It was worse than Charon had said, the house in Minefield that had been their home was entirely gone. Only a few beams of charred wood poked up through the hard snow, it was now nothing more than a pile of rubble, just like half of the other houses in Minefield.

From the water tower they made their way down the back end of Minefield and to the street that had once been their home. The spot where it had once been dropped away to a view of faraway snowy landscapes. If she squinted she thought she could almost see Paradise Falls.

She and Heather stood by as Charon churned through the wreckage. It was an hour, maybe two, before he had come back with news that he couldn't find any bodies.

It was already past when they would normally have had lunch, so they retreated to another house in Minefield. It had been the one where she and Charon had been together for the first (And so far the only) time. The house had been turned over, the inside of it looked more wrecked than it had been before. There were signs of sleeping arrangements, a campfire in the middle of the living room, and empty cans and bottles strewn about, not to mention a stale urine smell that came from the kitchen. It made the room and the front hall unbearable, but further in it aired out with the help of the shoddily boarded windows. They decided they wouldn't spend the night, but she was becoming worn down and wanted to take a short rest before moving over to one of the other houses.

Not one of their group would have been so careless as this, so it had to have been someone else. Charon disappeared through the door, only telling her quickly that he was going to secure the perimeter. That was, of course, after he had cleared the entire house, including the attic.

She and Heather brought out some food and ate it cold. When Charon came back, he ate a little, then told them that he had something that they should see.

Not far from the house (in fact, they were just barely off of the street), were piles of bodies. None of them she recognized, they were all full of bullets and missing their armor and clothes. It was a good sign at least, that the others had fought back, and it seemed that Cassidy had some more pieces of armor to work with.

“Past that, there's been no other sign,” He said.

“They could have gone anywhere,” She said, “Even from the way we came. We could've passed them while they were hiding out somewhere.”

He shrugged, “Sure, but it's been a more than a month. If they had gone north and had kept going, they could be in Maine or Vermont for all we know.”

She vaguely remembered a map from the vault that had the United States, and what the Commonwealths had been. Could they really have gotten so north that they had traveled to the New England Commonwealth so quickly? She didn't know that it was that close that they could get there in a months walk.

That was, of course, assuming they had an easy journey and met with no trouble along the way. It seemed like there was very little chance that they'd ever cross paths again.

Charon shifted his weight from one foot to the other, “If they'd gone south, I'd say they could be anywhere as far as the Gulf by now, but I doubt it. West, I'd think Midwest or Plains. Indiana, Illinois, or Missouri even.”

“What should we do?” She asked.

He couldn't give an answer, just a shrug of the shoulders.

The obvious answer was to find shelter and there were still three more homes in Minefield beside the one that had been turned into a dump. She assumed those ones were still in good shape, but she drew away from that idea as being anything other than temporary. She didn't want to walk out of a house each morning, seeing the remains of what had once been their home destroyed.

But where were they to go? Their options were very limited, Megaton was gone, she could no longer return to the Vault, and she knew of very few other settlements.

There was Tenpenny Tower, that her brother had tried to get her to go with him to. They didn't allow ghouls though, but maybe if they went that way, they could meet back up with him somewhere and he'd know where to go. She didn't know where it was other than a vague 'south'.

Closer was Big Town, the town of teenagers, but she didn't want to go there and be a burden on their food sources. When they had seen Red and Shorty before, they had been pretty skinny already.

But even further away was Rivet City, which she knew both that they would not be a drain on their resources and would provide adequate protection from the weather. The downside to that though, was that they didn't have any caps that could provide any of those resources to them.

She hummed, looking around them, there weren't any other places in the Wasteland she knew about, “I guess we'll have to stay awhile. I'll go up the water tower sometime and see what I can find.”

The three of them went back inside to another, cleaner house to rest until dinner.

Ella went through it with all the enthusiasm of someone who had been awake for three days straight. She could hardly even remember what it was that they had together.

They set up some sleeping arrangements, Heather (thankfully) took a hint and went to occupy one of the upstairs rooms while she and Charon tried to make due with the couch downstairs. All of the mattresses had burned up with their home at the end of the street. There was hardly any room, even by himself there would have hardly been any room. So they were sort of smooshed together onto the couch.

She had laid against him for perhaps an hour, she just couldn't get to sleep at all, but that was when Charon began to stand and slowly untangle himself from her.

He stood and she looked up at the shadow that his body created in the darkness, “Where are you going?”

His shadow looked different as soon as she began to speak, maybe more tense, but it was difficult to differentiate in the dark.

“Outside,” He replied, “I thought you were asleep.”

It had to do with what he was upset about before, the thing that had changed him, “Is something wrong?”

“No,” He replied, “We're pretty safe here.”

He'd misunderstood her.

“No, I mean...” She sighed, “Are you angry with me?”

Her voice sounded small, even to her, and she _felt_ small too.

She could feel his gaze on her, rather than actually see him looking down at her, “No.”

“Okay,” She said, laying her head back down onto the make-shift pillow that was her backpack. She had expected him to leave, because that was what she'd caught him doing, but he sat at the edge of the couch and fidgeted.

“I'm not angry at you,” He said finally, after some minutes and a sigh, “It's... _difficult_... for me to share things like that... about me and my brother. Even before the war. I'd never told anyone that I sung that song to him, not even my closest friends.”

She moved to half-sit up.

Charon continued, “I don't know. Before the war... well... it must've been pride. You were expected to be a man and not show weakness, to never become intimate enough with anyone that they should know or understand what you feel.”

“And after the war?” She asked.

He shrugged, “Self-preservation, not for my pride but for my emotions. I was already under the contract when the bombs dropped, and if anyone who'd ever held my contract knew those intimate details of my life, they could hold it over me. Torment me with the information, degrade and humiliate me in a way they couldn't physically.”

“I wouldn't do that.”

“I know,” He replied.

 


	43. Tower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cross gets Watson and Amata to infiltrate Tenpenny Tower

Holly Watson

-January 9th, 2278-

 

They stayed at the factory for three days, Cross fed them, made sure they were hydrated, and armed them. She taught some of the Vault Dwellers to shoot, in a stoic and detached way. There was no positive reinforcement, there was no negative reinforcement, she merely told them whether they had hit the target or not and how they should improve their aim. Very little ammo was spared for the training, however.

Hand-to-hand combat was much harder for the dwellers and herself, because Cross would not take a no in her sitting it out, even if she were more used to the wastes than the rest of them were. They were beat nearly half to death, by both Cross and Fawkes. Cross would point out weak points and tell them whether or not their forms, footwork, holds, and grips were right in the same way she would tell them if they had put a bullet where they were supposed to.

They would do all of that early in the morning, and then she would disappear for the rest of the day, coming back near dusk with molerats or radroaches, and a small sum of caps that were added to a pile.

She had asked Cross if they could take the dwellers back north to Big Town, but Cross refused. Jamies' daughter was much more important at the moment, and she needed the help. She was too scared of Cross to contradict her, not knowing if she were the type of person whose breaking point was just around a corner. It felt more as if they were held hostage to what Cross wanted, rather than them going along with what she was saying because they genuinely wanted to help.

And besides, she'd been told, they were receiving training that would undoubtedly help them in the long run. It didn't feel like it, considering that none of them could move after lunch. The only person who was safe from these exercises was Old Lady Palmer (She had introduced herself as such, so she was only known as that). The older woman tended to them after their vigorous work-outs, while Cross was gone.

On the fourth day, it changed. They were allowed to rest, and Cross sat by the campfire that had become their hearth and counted out the caps that she'd accumulated. The rest of them sat in silence and watched her count every bit of it out, grouping them into piles of tens and hundreds as she went along.

After all that was said (And after she had contributed her own small amount that she had taken with her from Big Town, just in case), they had a little less than a thousand caps. Cross was sure that it would have been enough to bribe their way in.

“So now can I take them all back up north to Big Town?” She asked, but she worried that the answer would be no.

“No.” Cross answered.

She frowned and sighed.

“The guards know me,” Cross replied, or continued while ignoring her, “They know I'm here for her, and Alistair has already decreed that I should not be allowed on the premises.”

She shrugged, “What if the kid's still with her mom? Or there's some other family to take care of her?”

Cross shook her head, “He asked that if anything should ever happen to her, that Ella take her. He wouldn't have asked such a thing if she would've been well watched over in the event of his death.”

She didn't know if that was exactly true, but she didn't want to challenge it. It wasn't like they had anyone here that could have given any proof for either argument other than Cross' word alone. It seemed that now they had to actually help with what might have been kidnapping.

She certainly wasn't going to argue with her when her super-mutant friend was sitting just a few paces away.

“Then who should go?” She asked. She was entirely unqualified for this sort of thing, “They're going to know immediately that I'm a wastelander.”

“I don't think you've seen yourself recently,” Cross smiled wryly, “Why do you think I've been fattening you up this entire time?”

She _hadn't_ seen herself, certainly not recently. Mirrors were rare, she'd only ever seen one once or twice. The last time she had even seen her face was in the reflection of water, and she only knew that she was androgynous enough just by the way other people acted around her that nobody quite knew what gender she was. She'd rather be mistaken as a boy and shot in the head than as a girl and kidnapped and raped by slavers or one of the raider gangs. It was just a risk that every runner in the Capital Wastland had.

“I don't think I could do it,” She said, really thinking about it. She'd have to first get past the guards, into the tower, try to blend in long enough until she'd found Jamies' daughter. But then what? How was she to escape? She couldn't very well walk out the front door with the girl.

“You can,” Cross replied, then seemed to think better of it, “Maybe two of you. Amata could do it.”

“Me?” Amata cried, “I don't know...”

“You're from a vault,” Cross replied in a clipped voice, “It's plain enough just by the way you hold yourself and speak. If they don't know that you're vault dweller by that, they'd assume you're high society from some other place. Perhaps Rivet City.”

“And if they ask?”

“Then just tell them you're from a vault. Play it up, anyone would be curious about it, even Alistair Tenpenny. Vault Dwellers are a rarity.”

Amata took a shaky breath, then agreed, “Should I wear my vault suit then? Or...?”

Cross tossed a bag (It had been one of several that she'd brought back from her day travels) onto the ground in front of the two of them. Amata opened it up, a silk and sequined dress was laid delicately on top. It was a faded blue, almost a blue-gray, and some of the sequins were a little dull, but it was still the best looking piece of fabric she'd seen in her entire life. It seemed as though Amata had also seen nothing like it before, as she handled it with a careful reverence.

“Is this... really for me?”

Cross's eyes narrowed a small amount, Holly doubted that Amata had even noticed, “If you promise to bring Jamie's daughter to me.”

“Sure,” Amata replied quickly, “I'm going to... go try it on.”

“A bath, first,” Cross said.

Amata had been halfway up, and had sunk back to her spot when Cross spoke, dress still in hand. Cross left, and when she came back it was with a metal bucket. She had filled it with water from some old pipe further in the building, and started a fire to warm the water up. With it was also a bar of soap that looked to be the driest thing in the entire building, and a rag cut from an old shirt.

Cross motioned for her to look into the bag once she had set the water to be warmed, while Amata was cooing over the dress with Old Lady Palmer, Christine, and Susie.

She drug the bag closer to her, equally clean clothes greeted her sight, but she was thankful it wasn't as obnoxious or feminine like Amata's new dress was. There was a plain button-up shirt that had once been white, some slacks that had once been black, a brown belt, and some boots that would have gone mid-calf to her. She wondered if they were her size.

Like the dress they all looked in good condition, none of them had holes or anything like that and the only evidence of them ever having any was a few places where the seams had been resewn. They smelled of Abraxo, so she assumed that Cross had cleaned them whenever she departed from their company.

The pants might've been a little long on her, but that was all right, she was used to clothes that didn't fit. It was good though, because the clothes she'd been wearing for awhile now were becoming tight. If it was because (as Cross said) she was fattening up as a result of being fed better or if she was actually growing, she wasn't sure.

“I'll have to find another bucket,” Cross said.

“I could go second,” She replied. She didn't really care either way.

Cross shrugged, and tested the water. She called Amata over and led her further into the building where she could get some privacy to bathe herself and change. They waited for a long while, and when Amata returned in the dress everyone admired her. Old Lady Palmer and Christine wanted to help her with some make-up, since she couldn't do it herself, but they didn't have much between them.

Cross left and came back with a bucket of new water and began to heat it up. When that was done, she got up stiffly and gestured her to follow.

Where Amata had been left was something of an old cafeteria. There were old chairs there, and she decided not to use the one that was obviously wet.

“Wash everywhere, but take special care to wash your face, neck, arms, hair, between your legs, and your ass. You don't want them smelling your ass, they'll tell you all about how much you smell like ass.”

“O-okay.”

“And be sure to rinse your 'lady parts' thoroughly. You don't want soap sitting there for too long.”

“Oh, okay.”

Cross turned to leave, but she stopped her.

“You knew I was a girl?”

Cross shrugged, “Yeah.”

“It's not... that obvious is it?”

“No,” Cross replied, “I'm over a hundred years old. You're not the first person I've met to pass as a boy.”

“You're over a _hundred_?”

She shrugged again, “Cyborg.”

And with that she turned a left.

Holly was left to contemplate that fact, and nearly forgot all about the cooling water. It wasn't cold when she started her bath, but it sure as hell was cold when she ended it. She hadn't had the chance to bathe like this _ever_. There was the occasional dip in a river (usually only when she needed to cross said river in a hurry) or a chemical shower in Rivet City when she could manage it, which was quick and cold.

Once finished she dressed and left to the main room. Everyone was still too busy admiring Amata as she was getting her make-up done to even notice that she'd left and come back. She went to sit next to Cross.

“Your hair is getting long,” Cross said. It was half-way to her shoulders, but Cross was right. She'd never had her hair this long before.

Cross stood and began to rummage through everything that she'd gathered for the group over the past three days, and after some number of minutes she came back with a pair of scissors and sat behind her.

“You should take the shirt off,” She said, even though she had begun cutting away the hair at the back, “It'll be itchy.”

She took the button-up off, but left the undershirt on. The only thing she could do while sitting perfectly still as Cross cut her hair was watch as Amata continued to get dolled up by her two girlfriends.

It seemed to go on forever, but finally Amata was finished and the rest of them waited for the haircut to be finished in a quiet patience. Cross ruffled her hair, getting any strays before proclaiming her to be done before they sat down and had lunch. Maybe their final lunch together, because who knew what would happen after. It could be that they get caught immediately and were executed.

Would the people of Tenpenny Tower do that to them? With Cross they only refused her access, but if they were caught trying to kidnap a child from the Tower... And if they were caught and killed, what would Cross do? Certainly she wouldn't try again with two more of the vault dwellers. At the very least it would be suspicious, and at most they would be tipped off to what was going on.

Would she ally herself with the ghouls who wanted to take the tower? She'd known about them, and how they didn't want to go about getting in the 'peaceable' way. If she were to cut a deal with them, taking over the Tower with them as long as they spared the girl, then they may take it.

The end of lunch is what brought her out of the thoughts, and they all stood around in a loose circle by the door, the vault dwellers and Cross saying their good-byes to her and Amata. Fawkes stayed near his corner, but bid them farewell from across the room all the same.

They stepped outside, Holly couldn't help but smirk a little (she did her best to hide it) when Amata immediately realized how cold it was and how she didn't have any sort of protection from it. She grumbled about it (Mostly) quietly as she was led to the tower.

It stuck up in the landscape like a final rotted tooth that refused to leave an empty maw.

As they walked to the tower she occupied her time by counting footsteps in groups of ten, instead of focusing on how far away they were. When they had arrived at the gate it seemed as though it had taken less time because she'd been distracted by counting.

There was a sign on the gate that pointed out a speaker near the door, and she pressed the call button to get the attention of some guards.

“ _What?_ ” Came a crackling voice through the speaker, “ _Who's there, and what's your business?_ ”

She looked back at Amata, who was shivering plainly, turned back to the speaker and summoned up the most confident voice that she could, “I'm speaking for my Employer, who wishes to apply for... residence.”

There was silence on the other end, then: “What? We don't give handouts, now go the hell away.”

Amata groaned from behind her.

She continued; “My Employer is adamant on living here in Tenpenny Tower... I'm sure that we can come to an arrangement?”

Holly could practically see him stroking his chin as he hummed in thought, “How about... a hundred caps?”

She paused intentionally, “We can have that arranged.”

A little more joyously the voice said, “Welcome to Tenpenny Tower,” just as the gates began to open. Stepping through them with Amata following closely behind she looked around the snow laden courtyard. To the left were a group of the guards of the tower, having cleared out some of the snow in a circle with a small fire situated in the middle, near to the inside intercom. Through the snow drifts there was only one path between the clearing and the front doors of the tower itself.

It was very plain that the guards began to oogle Amata, which wasn't all that surprising.

The owner of the voice that had come through the intercom looked them over, “Who are you two, exactly?”

“Amata Almodovar,” Amata replied before she could, “And this is my... _personal assistant_ , Watson.”

There were a few whispers over the fire as to what she could mean by that, and the intercom speaker still looked a bit uncertain even though he was about to be bribed.

She stepped in, “Miss Almodovar was born in a Vault, you see, and she is used to a level of comfort that she is not afforded out here on the surface.”

“Oh yes,” Amata said with a smile, “Watson does everything for me, cooks my meals, washes my clothes, delivers my letters, runs errands, et cetera.”

Holly heard one of the men whisper to another, “ _Yeah, she'll fit in all right_.”

“ _Now_ ,” She said, “I am _quite_ cold, so I shall be heading inside. Watson, I expect that you'll pay this good man?”

“Yes,” She nearly gritted her teeth, but no sooner as she'd said that did Amata turn on her heel and make her way through the cleared out path to the front door of the tower. This was going to be a lot harder than she'd thought, but at least there was no suspicion thrown at them at the moment. She couldn't tell if Amata was acting or if she was really this stuck up when she had comfort waiting for her.

Taking some of the money (She had several bags of smaller amounts hidden on her) she let the man count out his caps. While he did so some of the men began to talk to her and she had to (begrudgingly) enter into a conversation about Amata with them.

“'R you two a deal?” One asked bluntly.

“No.”

They laughed and leaned forward as though they'd be able to hear her better if they did, “She got anyone?”

“Anyone exclusive?” One of the others added.

“I'm not aware of any.”

“A hundred,” The man she bribed said, handed her back the empty bag as he stuffed the caps into his own cap purse. There had been more than a hundred in the bag, but she was going to let it slid, she didn't need much of it in the immediate future anyways.

“Name's Gustavo, keep to yourself and don't bother the other residents too much.”

She nodded, “May be a little harder to reign in Miss Almodovar, but if I've heard anything about who live here, she'll make friends.”

He snorted and smiled, “Just don't let her get into too much trouble. By the by, would you happen to know if Amata would be open to the idea of... I don't know... dinner?”

She stared back at him, “I'm not authorized to make those kinds of decisions for Miss Almodovar.”

“Oh, sure,” He replied.

She continued, “Although, I don't think she has any plans tonight. Unless you're slow to ask.”

She left him at that, and treaded through the path in the snow to the front door and let herself in. Amata was nearby, looking up at the tall ceilings and rubbing her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to return some warmth to them.

The ceiling _was_ tall. She hadn't seen any ceiling this tall in any normal buildings. There was, of course, the large space that was the marketplace of Rivet City, but she wasn't sure which was bigger right at the moment.

Even more impressive was the gigantic chandelier hanging above them. It was _immense_ , and she wondered how it had stayed up as long as it had.

Ripping her attention away from the spectacle, she searched around the towers' lobby. There were a couple of guards posted at a front desk, and at varying intervals around the foyer there were doors that led to the different shops on the ground floor. She didn't understand some of the words that were used, but could see some of the things that were offered from peeks inside.

Before she could suggest anywhere to go, or even think of where they should start, Amata veered off towards a place called a 'cafe' and the two of them stepped in. It was an eating area, and some food was picked out by Amata for the two of them. She sighed and paid for the food from their collective purse and they sat down to eat for a little while.

“What's the plan?” She asked Amata.

Amata seemed to have been startled by the question, and looked up from her snack cakes. She was silent for a moment, then “I'm not sure.”

Holly rolled her eyes when Amata wasn't looking. This was going to be long and lots of trouble, she could just feel it.

 

After the meal she left Amata in the company of the cafes' owner, and went to the bar. One thing she could count on was that a bar in any settlement was almost always busy. Unfortunately for her, the bartender was a robot, so she wouldn't have been able to butter him up for information.

She scoped out the rest of the room, it was sad just how she could pick out the same types of people that she'd seen in any other bar in the wasteland. The hopeless drunk, the old man, the woman who wants nothing to do with her husband; just three of many types that she could name.

She looked them over carefully; the drunk was already too wasted to be of any use to her, and the woman was scowling quite intently at her drink and would probably snap at her the second she even came a foot close to the table.

The old man though, he seemed the jolly sort so it might just be that he would be willing to share some information, especially with new residents in the building.

She sat across from him, “Can I order you a beer?”

He smiled and lifted his glass – probably whiskey - “I'm fine. You new around here? I'm sure I've never seen your face before, but then again, my old brain could very well be failing me now.”

“This is the first time we've met,” She replied, “I'm employed by a new resident, so I'm looking into knowing more about the building and the people in it.”

The man smiled again and stuck out a hand to shake hers, she accepted the gesture, “The name's Herbert Dashwood.”

“Wait... _The_ Herbert Dashwood? _Herbert 'Daring' Dashwood?_ ”

Herbert Dashwood chuckled, “One in the same, and you?”

She tried to tamper down her excitement, but it was difficult because Herbert Dashwood was her hero. She'd listen to the radio shows about him every night that she could when she was a child.

“People only know me as Watson.”

Herbert nodded, “Sure, Watson. What is it that you want to know about the Tower?”

She shrugged, feigning slight disinterest, “Just anything that we'd need to know, I suppose.

“Well, er... let's see, you'd be in danger of bumping into a few inflated egos. People here think they're so much better than any of the outsiders. If I were you though, I wouldn't stay too long.”

“Why's that?”

“There's a group of ghouls who want in. I'm no ghoul hater, my very best friend was a ghoul-”

“Argyle?”

“Yeah,” Herbert nodded. He stared wistfully off in a direction of nothing for a few moments before returning to the conversation, “But these people don't understand that they're just as human as the rest of us, and I think the wasteland might push them into doing something dangerous.”

“Ah,” She replied, thinking for awhile about where to take the conversation, “Do you think they'll do it soon?”

“Not really. It's been too cold for anyone to do anything out in this weather. But then again, you and your employer – slash – new resident of the Tower were out there in this weather.”

“Not by choice.”

“Oh? I'd be interested in a story.”

She shrugged, “It's a long one.”

“Even better,” He smiled.

A noise came from the main room, and she realized that it was Amata calling her name, “Maybe next time, I have business to attend to with my employer.”

“Cheers then,” He held up his glass and downed it as she left the table.

 

In the entryway of the Tower was Amata, as well as a certain guard named Gustavo. It was tense there, but mostly because there was a very obvious look of flirtation between the two of them. Holly sidled up next to Amata and announced her presence.

“Yes, Miss Almodovar?”

“Oh, yes Watson. Chief Gustavo has found us a room to stay in. I thought you should come so that you would know where it is, and then get back to whatever it was that you were doing.”

“Yes, Ma'am,” She nearly gritted her teeth.

 

The room was larger than any room she'd ever slept in, but judging by Chief Gustavo promising that perhaps soon they'll be upgraded, it was likely to be one of the smaller rooms in the Tower. The room had a standing partition that cut the room in half, and each side had a bed and a dresser. There was a bathroom to the left hand side, so Amata claimed the bed that was closest to it.

Gustavo showed them how to work all of the water, and it was amazing and a little terrifying having running water in a building that looked like it had never gone through the war.

He left, and she went to the window while Amata marveled over the porcelain bathtub. From there she could see the factory that Cross and the others were holed up in, and the half fallen highway behind it. Not much else was easily discernible in the snow, not even the snow-gray horizon against the clouded gray sky.

After making sure that Amata didn't need anything at the moment, she left and went back to the bar downstairs.

Herbert Dashwood wasn't there.

She decided she wanted something stronger than beer.

 


End file.
